The Six
by RunWithTheWolf
Summary: Everyone with the potential to be a hero has the potential to be a villian. Six make the choice, willing or not, to rule the Earth as Kings. But what drives them to that choice?
1. The Beginning of the End

**Fair Warning: This chapter is not indicative of the other chapters, my writing style changes the moment you hit chapter two, this is more of a prologue.**

I stare at the Temple of Athena. I just stare at it. The once great pillars brought to the ground, nothing but stone piles. Small fires rage around the rubble. I don't bother to put them out. They hardly matter, the smoke will just mix with the smoke from the factories, blotting out the blue sky of Paradise. I watch the temple because my other option is to watch the slaves. The once proud warriors reduced to manual labour. All under my command. All now hate me.

I punch the one standing pillar blindly. It quivers but doesn't fall. Of course not. I examine my knuckles, still not use to seeing them without a thick black glove. They're bloody. That at least, is familar.

No-one ever asks for life. It just happens. You don't get a choice. One second you're nothing, floating around in the nothingness that is everything, the next you're scrunched up in a tiny collection of cells screaming at the world. No choice. There are very few choices in life. Correction, there are very few important choices in life. You may choose whether to eat pastrami on rye or turkey on a wrap but that's hardly of consequence. The most important choice in life is made for you, or not made at all, depending on how you want to look at it. Still the last person who has a choice in the matter is the child, they just pop up in the world and are expected to learn to deal with it. Truthfully it rarely goes well.

However the second most important choice in life is not made for you. Death. Interesting isn't it, how the second most important choice of life is death. I suppose that's because death doesn't exist without life, or conversely life without death. I think about death a lot. Every second a person spends breathing is a choice for life, a moment chosen against death. Anyone could end their life at any point they want to, but they don't, usually. That's their choice. Where do the morals fit into that? I'm not sure, at this point morals are pointless to me. Perhaps many people think that death is not a choice, that it's inevitable. Ridiculous. There are always ways, again not all of them are on the moral side of the law, but they exist. One can cheat death, look around, you've got La Fay stealing youth, Savage with his meteor, Ra's with his Pits or even the Amazons.

At the end of the day when you're going to let yourself die is your only real choice. Let yourself get old? Finish it now? It's all about willpower. The only important question in life, do you have the will to live? I don't. But I don't have a choice. I bet that I'm the only person who wants to die but can't. In fact, if I had any real choice in the matter I would have elected to have never been born at all, much safer that way, less death.

But I didn't get that choice. I don't get any choice. I'm a piece of a puzzle. A pawn on a chessboard. From the moment I was put together my life was mapped out for me. I managed to make a few deviations, some intention, most not. I was considered a failure from the time I was two weeks old. Of course I was also a great success in the two weeks before that so maybe it somehow evens out.

So here I hide, trying to cover my shame, pretending that I don't know what's happening beyond this island. Consoling myself that I didn't kill anyone personally, but I know, I know that I'm just as bad as they are. The six of us, we're about to take over the world. It was so easy. We'd been made for this. With our abilities, the raw power, we couldn't fail. The Earth didn't stand a chance. I didn't stand a chance. They needed me. They got me. How could I say no to my own family?

Family. That's the key. Genetics. Love. Life. Faithfulness. What makes a family? This is my first family, the second died and I had to leave the third behind. I had to return to my roots. But sometimes, in moments like now, moments when every person I've ever had to be clash against each other with the strength of the gods themselves, I think back. To the one person I was that made a difference and I wonder. I wonder why I couldn't have always been that person. I wonder why I had to get tied up with these other five. Why I had to be the sixth. Whether deep down I've always been this person.

And like every good memory, this one starts with a Bat


	2. Secret Identities

Batman stalked down the Watchtower's hallway. It was the kind of walk that shook the ground, if the ground hadn't been doing its utmost to stay silent for fear of retribution. He didn't want to be here. Today of all days he had better things to do, pacing for instance, and brooding, and sweating, and general angst. Not fear of course, the Batman didn't do fear. In theory.

He was still here early. Whenever there was a mandatory meeting he was here early, watching, always watching. He slid into his favourite shadow. When he'd built the Watchtower he'd engineered these shadowy corners into it, his own private Watchtower.

The Big Blue Idiot showed up first talking casually with J'onn, "I just don't understand what Luthor's problem is," he complained.

"The man harbours an irrational hate for you."

Superman raised his hands in the air, "but that's ridiculous, I in no way interfered with any of his work with LexCorp. I only got involved once he started all this criminal business. I have no interest in competing with him."

Batman rolled his eyes under the cowl, Superman was ever the optimist, ever the idiot, ever the powerful, ever the consummate good guy. It was almost a little nauseating sometimes. J'onn on the other hand was consistent, was the neutral ground, passive. He rolled with the punches in a way Batman knew he never could, The Batman needed control.

A third voice joined the conversation and Batman's head seemed to turn of its own regard, "Kal, the man considers your mere existence tantamount to a challenge." Diana said coming around the corner.

"It's still ridiculous," The Kryptonian said.

"Perhaps," responded the Princess, "but I've found that to be a common theme with most men."

Batman's cheeks quivered slightly in an imperceptible smirk knowing that it was common theme for most of existence, not just men. Then the smirk was wiped off his face as Diana put a comforting hand on Superman's shoulder and left it there while the conversation continued.

All observation forgotten for a reason he couldn't quite explain, Batman rose like a wraith from the shadows surprising even those with super senses.

"Batman," Diana said while J'onn nodded.

Batman swept past them, conveniently passing between Superman and Wonder Woman causing her to drop her arm.

"How long have you been there?" Superman asked.

"Long enough," came the gruff reply, "Meeting now, I'm busy." He turned the corner, his cape swishing behind him.

"You didn't know he was there?" Diana asked.

Superman shrugged, looking irritated, "I never know when he's there. He just pops up." They had just made it into the conference room when Flash zoomed past them, "Made it with ten seconds to spare!"

The Speedster stopped stunned, "Bats! You're here - " He stopped at the look he received, "I mean Batman, Batman! You're here! I didn't think -" The glare didn't stop. "I'll just be quiet now."

They took their seats. Batman noticed that when John and Shayara walked in her face lite up while his fell. Then John passed her a fifty which was taken with grim satisfaction. Some kind of bet obviously.

Superman as chair starting talking and Batman made a mental note to add 'boring speeches' to Superman's list of powers, one never knew when they may have to put a crazy villain to sleep. Batman directed his attention to the monitors in the room. He'd placed his chair at the perfect spot on the table. From this spot he could see the monitors, the window, the door and all of his teammates without moving his head. A benefit of the cowl, no-one knew where he was looking or not looking.

His eyes performed their usual sweep of the room. First to the window, nothing that he could see. Move to the monitors, currently quiet. Move to the door, more of a habit than actually expecting anyone to just stroll through it. Back to Superman, still talking. Wally, nonstop fidgeting. J'onn, actually appeared to be paying attention. Back to Superman, still talking. John, trying to pay attention but mostly failing, obviously a little bitter about losing the fifty bucks. Shayara, looked like the cat that ate the canary, fingers locked around her mace, which was unusual. Batman shifted slightly in his seat, going into a more defensive stance just in case.

Back to Superman, still talking. His eyes finally moved to Diana and his Bat-willpower kept his eyes firmly above her collarbone. She was nervous, her muscles coiled tight. Her eyes flitted to his face and then back to Superman. Batman's eyebrow quirked under the cowl, she wasn't an eye flitting kind of person. She stared at you or she didn't look at you, there was no middle ground for a Princess.

"Batman," Superman's voice called. He turned his head in that direction. "What do you think?" Superman asked.

Batman said nothing. He just stared at the Man of Steel until he cracked and repeated, "Would you be willing to train with members of the league to brush them up on their hand to hand combat?"

"No"

Superman frowned, "Then you retract your previous statement that and I quote, 'you all fight like superpowered five year olds.'"

"No"

"Then how do you propose we remedy this situation?"

"Train."

J'onn joined, "Unfortunately we lack the time necessary to train ourselves and we can't risk the security of bringing an outsider onto the Watchtower."

"I'm busy"

"Come on Bats!" Flash said, "we're all busy."

"No, you're not." Batman put emphasis on the 'you're'.

Wonder Woman stood up commanding his attention, "Batman we as a team have had enough of your solo act. It's juvenile, self-serving and counterproductive. You insist on insulting our abilities and then refuse to propose any decent way of remedying the situation." She leaned forward and locked eyes with the cowl as best she could. "Stop being such a man."

He leaned forward too, "That would be difficult Princess." The title stung worse than a blow. The tension hung in the air for a minute until Superman tried to cut it.

"Batman, we respect your different way of dealing with what we do," Superman shot a glance at Wonder Woman, "but at the same time you need to recognize that we're a family and families are about take AND give."

"Family," the word was thrown out with disdain, "I've already got more family than I want, I certainly don't need you too."

His words hung in the air. The other six had stunned looks on their faces with various mixes of hurt and betrayal. Batman continued, "I don't need family. I don't want family. Family is counterproductive to what we do. Besides I'm only a part timer remember? You all be a family, I'll be the hobo living in the back alley. Alone."

He made to get up but two fists and mace crashing into the table stopped his progression.

Shayara got words out first, "Alone? You think you're alone. You're sitting at a table with two exiles and two beings who are the last members of an entire planet. I'll bet that you go home every night to apple pie with Pa and Ma Batman. Try betraying an entire planet of warriors, try everyone on the planet you betrayed them for hating your guts. That's alone. So don't you dare not call this a family, because if it's not, most of us don't have one."

Diana cut her off, removing a fist from the table and pointing it at Batman, "You arrogant, self-centered, son of Aries." Flash looked afraid for Batman. "Everyone needs family. Family is a blessing. It means being able to trust someone completely and we need to trust each other or we will die. You can never have too much family. I would give anything to be reunited with my mother, with my sisters and you, you, you scorn yours. You're right, you're not part of this family Batman. You'd have to actually trust people, get to know them to be a family." Diana went to slam her fist into table again but Superman's hand got in the way. It was still lying from where he too had slammed the table.

Superman sucked air in through his nose, ignoring the pain ready to blast Batman too but was cut off by the man himself.

"Unnecessary," Batman said.

It was the last thing any of them expected, "What?" asked Superman instead of his prepared rant.

"I don't need to get to know you. I know you better than you know each other. And as for trust, that's laughable, there's a distinct lack of trust at this table."

"Yeah and it's wearing black and likes to brood," Flash muttered.

Superman was ready, "You're never here unless there's a battle or a meeting, I doubt you know us beyond our powers. And as for trust, I trust everyone here with my life."

The slits on the cowl narrowed, "but not with your secret identity."

Superman faltered, "well, that's, it's, well."

Batman didn't falter, "Trust means trust in everything, telling someone everything about you, you keep half of your life hidden from your 'family'".

This wasn't sitting well with Flash so he spoke up, "I'll tell everyone my secret identity Bats, if you'll lighten up a little."

They stared at him for a solid minute. Finally Batman said, "I already know. I told you, I know everything about you, about all of you."

"What?" Flash was indignant, "how would you know that? I'm careful."

"It took about half an hour," Batman was unrepentant, "Superman took twenty minutes."

"You know my… Of course you do. I might as well tell everyone now." Superman was angry, "The World's Greatest Detective can't be trusting people to be who they say they are now can we."

Flash had a thought, "How do we know you're telling the truth? You could just be lying to look all bad-ass and everything, I don't think that you actually…"

Batman cut him off, "You trust each other? You're a family? Fine." He stood,

"J'onn owns a 40% share in Oreos. He hates peanut butter and watches Mars every time it passes by the window. He built a monument to his family in the Australian Outback because it reminds him of home and he visits every second Thursday.

John sleeps with a fluffy brown teddy bear that he's had since he was three. Nothing scares him more than his Aunt Marge. He hasn't had a date in just under a year. He stores his lantern battery in a pocket dimension in the far left corner of his apartment."

They couldn't have stopped him if they wanted to, in fact the six sat in a mingle of shock, horror and admiration. Batman continued,

"Shayara talks in her sleep. She doesn't miss Thanagar near as much as she thought she would although she does miss the alcohol. She overcompensates with her mace. She's claustrophobic and has a secret irrational fear of spiders.

The Flash's real name is Wally West. He's a redhead. He works as a forensic investigator. He just got a new girlfriend but he's worried that being a superhero is going to mess it up again. If he reads anything at super speed he can't remember it.

Diana sneaks off to the training room every night at one and practices Amazon fighting techniques because she's afraid she's going to forget home. She cries in her sleep. She's developing an addiction to iced mochas and soap operas. She wonders if she should still be wearing the Amazon armour or not but can't bear to part with it. She's one of our best and worst fighters. She uses peach shampoo and did a modeling add once because she needed the money to fund a children's shelter.

Superman was raised on a small farm in Kansas. He actually flies home every weekend to have apple pie with Pa and Ma Kent. His real name is Kal-El and his real parents are Jor-El and Lara. His adopted name is Clark Kent, parents Jonathan and Martha. He's a reporter for the Daily Planet and is pining over Lois Lane." Batman stopped to breathe, "Don't think that I don't know you."

"You have no right-" Diana started.

"To what?" Batman asked, "to do research? To ask questions? You don't want people to know about something hide it better. Or did I have no right to tell everyone that? You trust each other remember, you're a family," Batman's voice leaked sarcasm, "Besides Kent and West just said that they might as well tell everyone their identity."

Batman got up to leave and no-one stopped him until he was almost out the door. Flash was standing in his way, "Fine Bats," he said. His usually smiling face frowning, "Turn-about is fair play, who are you under the cowl." He reached out a hand to flick it back but Batman somehow grabbed the fastest man's hand.

"Turnabout would be you figuring it out yourself." Batman growled, "I've got things to do." He stalked out the room, than his voice echoed behind him, "You want me to train you? Fine. Tuesday, Training Room, The Princess and I"


	3. Batman is a Man

The room was silent for a moment in disbelief until Diana exploded, "By the gods, that deluded, self-obsessed, obnoxious, emotion-less void! If he thinks that I am going to train with him, he is no detective. He has no right to spy on us like that, to violate our privacy. How dare he expose your identity and not his own! I will take no instruction from a man of such low moral fiber."

Flash zoomed back into his seat and sighed, "Well, I was trying to find a way to tell you all anyways." He pulled back his mask and they were all treated to a smile under an alarmingly messy shock of red hair, "Wally West at your service."

"It suits you," Shayara decided after a moment, ruffling the redheaded mop.

John cut in, "Better question," he turned to Superman, "You, the man without a mask, have a secret identity."

Superman blushed slightly, "I slouch, change my voice, put on a pair glasses, trust me no-one who looks at Clark Kent is ever thinking Superman."

"Except Batman." Diana put in.

Flash sighed, "And here I thought that I'd been careful. I guess that's the way the Bat glares."

"What?"

He shrugged, "Just trying it out."

J'onn commented absently, "So what are we going to do about Batman? He did feel abnormally," J'onn searched for the right word, "prickly today, but his attitude is going to negatively affect the team. And no, before you ask, I cannot read his mind and find his identity."

Diana had a wicked grin, "Tie him up in the lasso and make him tell us the truth."

"No, no, no," Superman looked horrified, "We've got to make him trust us, all that would do is make him worse."

Flash had a suggestion, "Why don't we just kick him out? He'll come crawling back eventually. We'd be fine, we're plenty smart."

J'onn shook his head, "Batman's input is far too valuable for that. Despite his dark persona the man is a tactical genius."

"Besides," Lantern added, "He'd never come back. You heard him on the first day, 'Gotham comes first'."

Shayara shook her head at them, "So we do what he suggested."

"Which was?"

"Figure out his identity for ourselves." She said, "It might not make him trust us but it should gain his respect."

"You mean you want us to beat Bats at his own game," Flash's eyes were large.

"Yes, as long as there are no objections." Shayara added. There were none.

Diana smiled, "Let's bring that ego down to size."

Two hours later and they weren't having much success.

"Come on people," Superman urged, "we must know something about the man, we've worked with him for two years and the only thing we've got is Flash's astute observation that Batman is a man."

"Hey!" Flash said, "that cuts out half the population."

"But it's nothing we didn't already know." John said angrily.

Shayara stood, "Maybe that's the problem, we're looking for new insights. But we should just start with the obvious basics." She walked over to the low tech whiteboard that Superman had insisted on when the Watchtower was first built. Writing the word Batman across the top and underlining it she proceeded to write the word 'man' underneath.

"Okay what else? What do you think of when you think of Batman?"

"Scary as crap," said Flash immediately. Shayara ignored him.

"Gotham," Superman said, it went up on the board and she stared at it.

Turning to Superman she asked, "I assume you live in Metropolis?"

"Yes"

"And Flash you live in Central City?"

"Mmhmm" The man was absorbed in the laptop in front of him, "Call me Wally"

Diana caught her train of thought, "So we can probably assume that Batman lives in Gotham." She also turned to Superman, "Can you fly over Gotham and listen for his voice?"

The Man of Steel shook his head, "Batman has devices to cancel out my superhearing when he wants to. Also I'm fairly certain he changes his voice; there is no way that anyone has a voice that gravelly."

They stared at the board again.

"I think it's probably safe to assume that he has a poor relation with the family that he has," Diana said with a mean smirk.

"Not exactly something I can put on the board," Shayara grinned back, "but something to keep in mind."

"What about a job?" John asked, "It seems unlikely that Batman works as anything like a plumber or an office assistant." There was general smirking at the idea. John continued, "He said that Superman is a reporter and Flash works in a forensics lab. I was a marine. Those are all jobs that are related to the same sort of thing that we do here. Defending justice, exposing the truth – Batman's bound to have a similar sort of meaningful career choice."

Shayara nodded and wrote 'job in justice' on the board.

Diana had another one, "He's got to have a great body." Now everybody stared at her. Wonder Woman blushed when she realized what she'd said, "What I meant was he'll need to be in shape. There is no way a fat forty year old is hiding under that suit. We're looking for a well-built man probably in his early thirties. There are only going to be so many men with the right physique for what we do.

Shayara wrote 'great body' on the board just to watch Diana blush again.

J'onn looked at the board, "Even with all of this we will have a difficult time narrowing down any likely candidates. There must still be hundreds of well-built men in Gotham and we cannot spend all of our time hanging around gyms trying to find him by luck."

Flash shrugged, "Can't we just put a tracking beacon on the Batjet or something and call it a day?"

Shayara stared at him, "Wally, that is brilliant."

"Really?" John looked surprised.

She wrote the word 'cash' on the board an underlined it twice, "Think about it. All of the equipment that Batman has – planes, bombs, cars, chemicals, grapples, an endless supply of batarangs, he has to be getting a lot of money from somewhere."

Now Flash looked interested, "So Bats is rich?"

"Or he has a financial backer," Shayara added, "someone who cares about Gotham just as much as he does."

J'onn was already typing into the mainframe and concluded, "There are only eight people in Gotham wealthy enough to support Batman that aren't known mob bosses. Three have the correct build to possible be Batman, one is a woman but her son is a possible candidate, the other four are most likely not Batman but they could be funding him."

"Who are they?" Superman asked, "I've interview quite a few of Gotham's most famous."

"Annette Ruiche, Antonio Ricci, Sophia Starr, Angus McNab, Zubin Zucchini, Artie Knab, Bruce Wayne and Steven Walters. The last three are the only ones who fit the physical characteristics."

"Can't be Wayne," Superman said firmly, "I've met him. He's an idiot, it's all about women and alcohol with him. It was two in the afternoon when I met him and he was already drunk. It could be Walters or Knab though; they seemed like decent enough men. Walters seemed particularly intelligent, if not a little rude."

"Anyone of them could be a backer though," J'onn reminded him.

"Is there any way we could meet them?" Shayara asked, "I trust my own instincts more than anything else." Diana nodded in agreement.

"Did you say Wayne?" Flashed asked. They nodded, "Okay, well don't be mad, but I was watching the news on here," he gestured to the laptop, "and they just said that after this commercial break they're cutting to an 'important press conference with Gotham's resident playboy, Bruce Wayne."

"Playboy," Diana smiled true for the first time since Batman had left, "That's definitely not him."

Never-the-less J'onn brought the station up on the main screen, "We may as well see Diana, one never knows."

"I still can't believe it," Tim leaned back against a pillar in the foyer of Wayne Manor. "I mean I've seen the evidence and everything but still… you of all people."

Bruce adjusted the dress shirt for the umpteenth time, "We all make mistakes."

"Oooooooooooooo, don't let her hear you say that," The boy wonder teased, "no-one wants to be told they're a mistake, even if it's true." He added as an afterthought.

Alfred re-entered the manor, "The press are ready sir."

"Here we go," Bruce inhaled deeply, and then relaxed all of his features as the playboy waltzed out the door to the waiting crowd.

Tim grinned, "A better question Alfred, is he ready?"

"I don't think anyone could be ready for this Master Timothy."

Bruce Wayne tripped coming out the door of his own home and barely managed to stay on his fee, a calculated trip that he had performed hundreds of time. Grinning like a maniac he made his way to the small podium that Alfred had set up for the occasion,

"Looks like I'm still underestimating the size of my own feet," it was accompanied by a slightly lecherous smirk. The reporters laughed appropriately. "However," he continued, "today is not about me. Today is about a rather interesting conversation that I had about a month ago, one that, pardon my dramatics, would result in changes to my entire life." The reporters had grown silent cameras, pens and recorders at the ready. Bruce stopped talking and grinned at them, "You think I'm just going to tell you? That's no fun at all, any guesses my intrepid reporters?"

"You're selling the company?" shouted one reporter.

Bruce pretended to looked affronted, "Of course not, where else could I work without working?"

"You're terminally ill?"

"Last time I checked being rich and handsome wasn't an illness."

"You're getting married?" shouted one newcomer. The other reporters shouted at him, "Come on buddy, it's Wayne."

Bruce interrupted, "No my good sir, I am not getting married. Although I appreciate the vote of confidence that somewhere a woman could handle Bruce Wayne. However you are the closest of your colleagues so far."

An attractive newscaster called out, "Come on Wayne, cut to the chase!"

"Only if I'm chasing you darling," he said with a wink. The crowd went wild but he silenced them with his next words, "However, I suppose I can't put off the inevitable any longer."

Bruce cleared his throat into the microphone and later the Gotham Gazette would describe the famous playboy as almost bashful.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we all make mistakes in our lives, mine happened at the age of 18, although I was unaware of it until recently, and I would no longer call it a mistake. As we all know teenagers are not known for their planning skills, some of you would claim that I am still not known for my planning skills so you can imagine the state I was in back then. This announcement is the result of a wonderful, wild night of teenage passion," The reporters were absolutely silent, some wondering if this could possibly be going where they thought.

Bruce continued, "I would like to introduce to you, for the first time, my daughter Kayla Martha Wayne."


	4. Kayla Martha Wayne

Kayla Wayne strode out the door of Wayne Manor and into the flash of a thousand cameras. She took them like a pro – head up and hands waving. Her very first word ever in the spotlight was a small endearing giggle in the microphone. Bruce immediately put a hand on her shoulder and she smiled up at him then turned her attention back to the screaming reporters.

"You in the gorgeous fuchsia jacket," she pointed.

The crowd quieted and the lucky lady called out her question, "Who's your mother?"

Kayla shrugged, "Not a clue, never met her."

They demanded more of a response, "Wayne, Wayne, who's the mother?"

Bruce leaned into the microphone, "Let's leave that one be folks, she asked for anonymity years ago. I'm not near drunk enough to spill that one yet." He grinned, then grimaced, "Alright Vicki, let's get you out of the way."

The reporter stepped forward with a grin like a sharks, "Alright Miss Wayne, so clearly Mommy and Daddy abandoned you to the world, so where have you been for the last," she guessed, "twenty years?"

Kayla looked elated, "You think I look twenty? Like really? Actually I'm 18," she giggled again, "but good to know for like clubbing and stuff. Ummmmmmmm well, I've been pretty much everywhere. Foster families mostly. I bounced around a lot, people didn't like that I get myself into a lot of trouble, accidently of course."

The reporters started yelling again but she cut them off, "ANNNNNNND," she sang, "they didn't abandon me really. Like I mean Daddikins here didn't even know I existed."

Every single reporter with a notebook wrote the word Daddikins in it with a smirk.

"Alright then," came a shout from the crowd, "if you'd never met your mother how did you even know Bruce Wayne was your father?"

"Birth certificate, I finally thought to ask the government for a copy when I was sixteen. Just about passed out when I saw the name." She admitted sheepishly, "at the time I was in military school so there wasn't a lot I could do about it. I flunked out. Bounced around for a few more years then got sick of it, hopped a bus to Gotham and went to Wayne Enterprises."

"And you're sure she's your daughter Bruce, not just an elaborate con?"

Bruce frowned and leaned forward, "the results have been verified by three separate genetic clinics, we'll be releasing the reports for your viewing pleasure."

"Besides," the girl added, "we've like got the same eyes!"

The cameras zoomed in for a close-up, it was true. Both Wayne's had eyes as clear a blue as a Caribbean ocean; a few of the older reporters remember that Martha Wayne had had the same gorgeous eyes.

"What about your adopted sons…"

Kayla squealed into the microphone before the question could even be finished, "Tim is awesome. I never had any family before and he's so sweet. No fashion sense, but I'll fix that."

"And Richard?" They asked.

She shrugged, "I like haven't met him yet, but I don't doubt that he's awesome too."

Bruce spoke up, "Only one more question folks. Pick whoever you like sweetie."

She scanned the crowd nonchalantly, "Ummmmmmm, well, I know, I'll pick whoever has the best outfit. I guess that would like totally be you sir" She pointed to an attractive, twenty something year old boy holding a camera and in a fedora and suspenders.

He almost dropped the camera and stammered, "Uh, well, I guess, um, well,"

"Don't be shy," she called, "what do you personally want to know?"

He blushed slightly, "Well, you're rich now, what are you gonna do?"

"Perfect question," Kayla grinned at him, "we're having a big charity party in two nights here at the manor. Daddikins wants me to meet all of his big friends and throw the kind of party I've been missing all these years, like big and fancy."

The boy apparently found some courage, "No-one you want to invite, just his friends?"

Kayla shrugged, "I don't really know a lot of people but I suppose if I could invent anyone…" she thought about it, "I'd invite the Justice League, I've always wanted to meet a real superhero! But since I doubt they're coming why don't like you be my date instead?"

Up on the Watchtower Superman was grinning like an idiot as the newscast closed off, "Well it looks like we're going to a party, thank you Kayla Wayne."

J'onn agreed, "It will be the perfect cover to speak to at least most of these individuals."

"We'll need a reason for going," Lantern pointed out, "the Justice League hasn't catered

to dumb rich kids before."

Wonder Woman shrugged, "She said it's a charity, we've attended charity benefits before."

"But never as a whole group," Lantern noted.

"So, we say that we're here to support Batman's city to show our appreciation for his work," Shayara grinned, "That outta throw him for a loop."

Flash was staring at the screen more intently then should have been merited, "Does anyone else think that she looks a little familiar?" He asked at last.

They all turned back to the frozen image. Kayla Wayne had brown hair with well-placed highlights, chunky modern glasses were perched on her nose framing the sea-blue eyes and was physically attractive from her face to her body.

"No?" Flash asked again, "I mean she's got that classically attractive bit going for her, always makes me think of ancient statues, but just something about…" he trailed off and shook his head, "never mind. So we're going to this thing to spy on a bunch of rich people and hoping that one of them knows Batman? Bats will see it coming a mile away."

"But he won't be able to do anything about it," J'onn said, "the guests will all have RSVPed by the time we announce our appearance and if he is one of these people backing out would be too obvious."

"Diana you'll have to do most of the work," Shayara commented.

Wonder Woman looked confused, "I thought that this was a team effort?"

"It is," Shayara confirmed, "But we're going to need to get as close to these guys as possible and as Flash so kindly pointed out Batman is still a man, he's going to be hard pressed to say no to a dance with a gorgeous Amazon Princess."

"Shayara," Diana protested, "I hardly think I'm qualified to try and" she tried to find the right word but settled for, "flirt with a bunch of men. You know more, perhaps you should-"

Shayara cut her off, "I'm still not anyone's favourite after the invasion, besides while I can look good in a dress, you would look good in a paper sack, right boys?"

The guys seemed suddenly interested in the table top.

"Trust me," Shayara said, "it's got to be you, call it intuition. Batman won't say no."

Diana bit her lip, "I don't think I have anything suitable to wear, it might have to be a paper bag after all." The table top became even more interesting.

J'onn cut in, "I believe the league budget can afford a couple of dresses if we cut back on the cable bill."

"Awwwww come on," Flash moaned, "Not the cable!"

Green Lantern cut in unexpectedly, "Are we sure that we should be doing this?"

"Yes" rebounded around the room.

John looked at his teammates, "I realize that Batman overstepped quite a few boundaries

but it's Batman, in retrospect it's hardly unexpected."

"That doesn't make it right," Diana said confidently.

J'onn nodded his green head, "It doesn't but John has a point. Batman's mind is at best

conflicted, are we sure we want to delve into the personal life of a mortal man who chooses to dress up like a bat and intimidate people without any powers at all? We may find things we do not like."

Wonder Woman considered, "These are questions we probably should have asked from the beginning. We need some kind of answers before we can work properly with the man again."

"We should ask him first," Superman turned from the window, "We should find him and ask him our questions. I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt that if approached rationally he will at least give us something."

"Fine," Shayara said, "we find him, we ask him and when he doesn't answer us, we figure it out for ourselves."

Batman was glaring so hard at his computer that the screen should have exploded. He was missing something and it was driving him insane. Reaching up he pulled the cowl back from his head and re-examined the screen with fresh eyes,

"What are you up to Waller?" he growled, "where's the connection?" The bats above his head fluttered slightly almost accustomed to his moods. One of the lights flickered slightly and his brow dropped in irritation mentally noting to get Tim to change it later.

Hearing a noise even Superman would have trouble with, Batman held out his hand expecting a data file to be placed in. None was forthcoming.

"You have a daughter." The voice was challenging.

"Hello Dick," Bruce said, "Did Barbara give you the file?"

"No way Bruce," Nightwing called while folding his arms across his chest, "you have a daughter and you didn't even bother to tell your 'son'." The tone was harsh.

Bruce turned the chair, his face expressionless, "We called, and you didn't pick up. File, now."

"I saw the paternity test results," Nightwing continued ignoring Bruce, "that wasn't your DNA."

"Obviously"

"So therefore the question is merited, 'Is she your daughter?'"

"Yes."

Nightwing's eyes widened involuntarily, "A straight answer, you, you of all people, Mr. grumpy pants, broods a lot, could barely raise a couple of boys, has a teenage daughter."

"Yes, file."

Nightwing swung over to the computer, "Who's the mother?"

"None of your business." Bruce swiped the documents from his hand and immediately started reading.

"There's the man I remember," Nightwing sighed, "Why are you interested in Cadmus's work on Superboy anyways?"

"I need the preliminary research."

"Enlightening," Dick was sarcastic.

Batman turned back to the computer, "What do you want?"

"Not sure." Nightwing's trained eye scanned the computer, "I thought Cadmus was a

recent government creation."

"It is." Batman said gruffly, "Just go upstairs and meet her already, unless you want to change that light bulb."

"I'm going, I'm going, sheesh."

"That is not possible," Tim stared at the TV in disbelief.

Kayla Wayne cackled, "Eat my dust small-fry." They were playing Tim's new videogame and Tim stared in disbelief as this pop-culture princess trampled his high score.

"How are you so good at that?"

She shrugged, "Seven was really into video games."

"Seven?"

"Foster home number seven," she explained, "Didn't have cable so we spent all our time on this old X-box he'd cobbled together."

"Tim, I can't believe you're letting a girl beat you." Dick sauntered in through the door, his Nightwing costume replaced by jeans and an old T-shirt he'd found stuffed in his old locker. It smelled kind of funny but he figured it was better than waltzing around the manor in tights.

"Dick!" The fifteen year old tackled him, "I tried calling!"

The young man smiled apologetically, "Yeah my bad, I thought you were Bruce."

"So why'd you finally come around?" Tim's voice was earnest, there was no tone of betrayal.

Dick sighed dramatically, "Well, I turned on the news this morning and there was something rather interesting that I thought I should look into."

Tim smirked, "Dick, Kayla, Kayla, Dick."

His new 'sister' looked up from the couch where she'd started painting her toenails a soft gold, "hey, nice to finally meet you."

Dick stared at the nail polish bottle, his mind not quite able to understand how something so feminine had made its way into the man-only household. Tim elbowed him, "yeah, yeah, nice to meet you too."

She eyed him again, "So, you're like Nightwing right?"

If he hadn't been trained by Batman Dick would have jumped, "Excuse me?"

"Chill Dick," Tim laughed, "she already knows."

"Really?" Dick couldn't believe it in his mind there was no way that Batman would just tell someone his biggest secrets. The boys sat on either end of the couch and started a new game; Kayla sat in the middle with her tongue out as she concentrated on her toenails.

"Mmmhmmm," she said, "hard to keep it a secret with everyone disappearing like every five seconds."

"Speaking which," Tim asked, grinning as his virtual race car cut off Dick's, "when are you going to start training with us?" Dick raised an eyebrow in shock.

Kayla chuckled, "I'm not. I'll leave that jazz to you boys. I'm like totally happy just chilling in the manor; I don't need to be risking life and limb to get a few thrills fighting off psychos."

"It's a lot more than that!" Tim said pausing the game, "it's about saving lives and restoring justice to this black city. It's not a game or a thrill ride."

She flicked her hair back over her shoulder, "Then what is it?"

Dick answered, "It's something you need to do, something you feel in your bones, it's a pain that wells up inside you and demands order, it's who you are."

"Meh" was the only reply.

Both boys watcher her until Dick finally said, "You know I find it a little hard to believe

that you're Batman's daughter."

Kayla Martha Wayne looked him straight in the eye, "That's because I'm not, I'm Bruce Wayne's."


	5. Robin

Bruce and Tim were prepping for the night's patrol, or at least they were trying to prep.

"Question!" The female voice rang out across the cave, "What is up with the giant penny?"

"Quiet," Batman barked. He was going over the layout of the building for tonight's drug bust one more time and did not want distractions.

Robin called from where he was refueling the Batmobile, "Villain obsessed with pennies, long story."

Kayla looked at it, her head tilted to the side, "It's tilted," she proclaimed, "you should get on that."

"I'll write a memo," Batman growled, "Now quiet please."

Alfred swept down the stairs, "Sir, we need to discuss tomorrow night's party."

Bruce sighed, giving up on the review, he knew it all anyways, "I'm sure you can take care of it Alfred."

The butler looked down his nose at his charge, "This is a particular area that I will leave to your expertise Master Bruce."

"Fine, what?"

Alfred looked Batman square in the eyes, "The Justice League has asked to attend, in honour of the charity, Miss Kayla's request and to honour Batman's contribution to the League." The butlers mouth quirked slightly at the immediate look of shock on the man's face.

"Really?" shouted Kayla, "They're actually coming? Sweet!"

Batman shot her his best Batglare, "Not sweet, the last thing I need is anyone connecting the League to Bruce Wayne."

She shrugged, "It's sweet for me, I didn't say anything about you." Her eyes lit up, "what are the chances you have some gadget that will let me like subtly tape the whole thing and blackmail you with it at a later date?"

Robin flipped up onto the computer platform, "Chances are high that he has one, low that you'll ever get your hands on it." She pouted slightly.

"I'll deal with it Alfred," Bruce said at last, "we need to get going."

A minute later the Batmobile was squealing out of the cave.

"Have you ever gone with them Alfred?" Kayla asked.

"No Miss Kayla," he said, "I leave saving the world to better men then myself."

"Me too," she said softly.

The butler smiled down at the girl that was quickly activating his grandfather instinct, "Come on now Miss Kayla, I've just put some cookies in the oven, triple chocolate, your favourite."

"He's going to kill us. He's going to kill us." Flash kept chanting it over and over.

Finally Shayara had enough, "He's not going to kill us, he doesn't kill." She shouted over the comm link.

"That's what makes me nervous," John said quietly to J'onn, the Martian smirked in agreement.

The League was in Gotham and despite trying for over two hours none of them had been able to catch Batman on patrol. They'd split up into pairs, Shayara and Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and J'onn, Superman and Flash, but none of them had been able to corner the elusive Bat.

Flash had come the closest, literally stumbling into an abandoned warehouse to find a bunch of drug dealers tied to a rope and hanging from the ceiling begging the cops to show up before 'The Batman' returned.

The girls were spitting fire, "It should not be this hard to find him." Shayara said again.

"He must have gone home already," Diana reasoned, "he is good but there's no way he could hide from all of us."

Superman called over the comm link, "I've got something." They heard a whooshing noise, "Nope, not him, just a very scared couple of muggers," The Man of Steele's voice was almost impressed as he x-rayed the nearby area.

"What's the running total?" Lantern asked J'onn.

"12 muggers, 5 robberies, 1 hostage situation and the two drug bosses with their 32 hired guns." He replied.

Flash whistled in the comm, "Bats is a badass."

"20 bucks says he hits 15 muggers," John said.

"I've still got 15 on a bank robbery," Superman reminded them.

Flash thought about it, "10 dollars that next baddie we find wet himself."

"I can't believe you're betting!" Wonder Woman said, "Try and focus."

"Well this is ridiculous," John said after he made his twenty bucks in thirty minutes, "I've got a better idea."

Batman chuckled slightly as he watched his teammates run around his town like drunken idiots, Robin's eyes widened.

"You're not mad?"

"Of course I am," Batman said gruffly, and then lightening his tone he said, "but they're such fools, I'll be able to bother Kent for weeks."

"You're welcome!" chirped a pretend aggravated voice in his ear, "Wonder Woman might have caught you that time if I hadn't given you a heads up."

Batman said nothing in response.

"Come on B, what do you say?" She goaded.

He growled, "Thank you Oracle."

"That's better," she said smugly, "Also I pulled up the specs of that building in Washington like you asked, there's nothing there."

"Scan it again, check for thermals and ion trails."

"Ion trails? B, what do you think they were doing in there?" Barbara asked.

"Uh, Batman," Robin interjected.

"I see it."

A large green Batsignal had lit up the Gotham sky; clearly Lantern had decided to be a little more direct.

Oracle swore into her mouthpiece, "Batman, Harley Quinn is trying to break Joker out of Arkham again."

"On it," Batman swung down to the Batmobile.

Robin followed, "What about the League?" He said climbing into the passenger seat.

Batman stopped him, "You're going to go deal with them. Tell them to get out of Gotham."

As the Dark Knight zoomed away the Boy Wonder only had one word for him, "Shit."

"Give it another ten minutes Diana," Superman advised, "we weren't getting anywhere anyways."

Diana crossed her arms and leaned again the edge of the rooftop, "This is admitting that we couldn't find him."

"But…. We couldn't find him," Flash pointed out, "Old Bats has got to be the hide and seek champion."

"Not for long," Shayara gritted her teeth, "we find his identity and we blow the record wide open." She slammed her mace into the concrete.

"Whoa now, let's not be destroying public property," a new voice requested.

The green Batsignal dissolved, "Batman?" Lantern asked.

Shayara shook her head, "Unless Batman got kicked in the balls tonight that voice is too high."

"And here I thought I was starting to sound manly," the voice complained. The League watched as a young boy in red and green opened his cape and fluidly stepped out of a shadow.

"Robin," Superman acknowledged.

Tim nodded back, trying to keep the wonder off of his face, "Superman, Justice League."

"Who are you?" Shayara got right to the point.

"I work with Batman," Robin said bluntly, "I believe you called. Also I'm supposed to tell you to get out of Gotham."

Flash zoomed over, "Sorry little dud but we were hoping to talk to the main man."

Robin grinned at them, "We know, you're all not very subtle. It was a riot to watch though." Robin could hear Diana's teeth grinding in anger. He flipped up onto an air conditioning unit to avoid looking up at them, "And he's dealing with Arkham so it's either me or you can spend the rest of the week trying to hunt us down."

"It's a personal matter," J'onn said at last.

Robin shrugged, "Doesn't matter. Look I promise that if I can't answer it I'll at least let him know what you want but," he grinned cheerfully, "I'll probably know it."

Flash grinned back, "You're not much like Batman kid."

"I can't afford to be," Robin said, "we couldn't possibly pack any more gloom and doom into Batmobile without it blowing a tire, so try me. I can't Batglare you to death either."

Superman finally said, "We had an incident with secret identities and we were hoping that Batman would rectify the situation."

Robin looked at them for a moment and then burst into gales of laughter. The Leaguers looked at each other, confused but slightly amused with the small boy before them. Robin finally regained control, "Ah, sorry, he figured out your civilian ids didn't he, and now you want to know his."

"Well, yes." Superman said, uncomfortable with how much this boy seemed to know about the situation.

"Well, I can tell you this for certain. He will not tell you who he is, nor will he apologize for knowing who you are."

"I told you," Shayara said, "This was a waste of time."

"Maybe not," Flash said, "I bet the kid can tell us who Bats is."

John looked skeptical, "If Batman didn't tell us I doubt he'd tell some kid."

"It's Robin, not kid," The Boy Wonder insisted, "And Batman didn't tell me, I figured it out for myself."

"You figured it out?" Diana repeated.

Robin shrugged, "You bet, how else do you think I got this job? There aren't even a handful of people who have figured it out for themselves, I earned his respect. Once he told me that I could become a better detective than him one day!" Robin's voice shone with obvious pride.

The adults looked at Robin with a new respect, "Any tips for us non-detectives?"

He observed them for a moment then said, "Just remember that he's the World's Greatest Detective, remember that he is Batman."

"Riiiiiiiight," Flash said as Robin put a hand to his ear,

"Just give me one sec Oracle." He reached for a grappling hook, "I've got to go. But for what it's worth don't give up on him. He could use some friends who understand who he is."

Robin jumped off the building and Wonder Woman reflexively reached for him, then his grapple caught and he sailed away.

"Party it is then," John said sadly.

Flash looked alarmed, "Someone is going to have to lend me a suit."

**I suppose I should take a second here to thank all the reviewers for their support. It's my first fanfic so I was more than a little nervous. **

**That being said I'm more than ok with taking criticism too so if you feel so inclined questions, comments, concerns and criticisms are welcome.**


	6. Dresses

Tim banged on the bedroom door, "Half an hour Kayla."

"I KNOW!" exploded from the room, "unless you're secretly an expert hairstylist bug off bird boy!"

"Geez," Tim backed away from the door, "Girls, she's only been getting ready for a couple of hours now."

Alfred sauntered by with a designer dress bag draped over his arms, "Master Timothy, I've found in my humble experience to give women as much time as they deem necessary to get ready and once they chose to appear to always tell them they look fabulous."

"Duly noted Alfred," Tim nodded, "what's in the bag?"

"This," Alfred grinned broadly, "is Miss Kayla's dress for the evening straight from Paris. I took the liberty of purchasing you a new suit in case you change your mind and decide to join the party."

"I'd rather suck Scarecrow's fear gas," Tim said seriously.

"Very well young sir," Alfred sighed, "would you mind going down to the cave and ensuring that Master Bruce is ready for this evening? Unfortunately for the world at large he is going to have to be more Bruce Wayne the Playboy than he has had to be in quite some time."

Tim shook his head, "Did you see him this morning when he grabbed coffee? I know better than to bother a grizzly bear."

"Well Master Timothy the way I can see it you may do one of three things: get Master Bruce, organize the mess of party planners downstairs or deliver this dress to Miss Kayla."

Tim gulped, "I'll be in the cave."

"I thought as much sir."

* * *

><p>"Bruce?" Tim called, "Alfred is blackmailing me into getting you so don't make me do squats as punishment." He didn't get a response. "The party starts in 25 minutes."<p>

Batman was ignoring Tim. Barbara had sent him the second scans this morning and with the cowl on it was easy to forget the evening that awaited him. The scans had found an interesting heat signature beneath the building, weak, but definitely present. This was concerning as no-one had been documented entering or exiting the area in months. There had to be something down there. He wasn't about to confront Waller without a clearer picture of what exactly was going on.

"Batman," Tim tried again, now right beside the console but wisely staying out of his mentor's frame of vision.

Suddenly the entire screen was filled with an image of Barbara, "Bruce," she smiled sweetly, "I knew when I sent you this file you'd start to obsess so I've locked out your computer for the next two hours. Deal with it and go take a shower. I'm willing to bet you smell. You've got twenty minutes to get your Wayne on."

Five minutes later Tim's cell phone rang, "Hello?"

"Did it work?" Barbara asked.

Tim smirked, "He's never going to forgive you, he made ME do squats, but yes it did work."

* * *

><p>There was a different atmosphere to the Watchtower than one would usually find, instead of confidence and determination the air reeked of nervousness and trepidation.<p>

"Why doesn't J'onn have to go?" Flash moaned.

Lantern eyeballed him, "Because someone has to keep an eye on things and after that fiasco with the milkshake it's certainly not going to be you."

"Yeah, well, you look funny John," Flash said staring at Green Lantern.

Green Lantern grimaced, "Just because you decided to stick with the red clown costume doesn't mean that some of us don't need to dress appropriately for a black tie affair."

"But your tie is green." Flash pointed out, "besides Supes is wearing the cape and tights!"

Superman looked up from where he was reviewing the bios of Gotham's rich and famous, "I explained that Flash, suits are too close to what Clark Kent usually wears, I don't need anybody else figuring it all out."

"Would this be acceptable?" J'onn asked phasing up through the floor and holding out a tuxedo for Flash.

Lantern nodded, "He'll be the best dressed of us all."

"You sure Lantern?" a voice called from the corridor. The men turned towards the sound and worked very hard to keep their eyes in their head and their tongues in their mouths.

Diana and Shayara stood before them dressed as they'd never seen them. Shayara's dress was gold and shimmered when she walked, obviously backless it was also lower in the front then John was comfortable with, not that he was going to say anything. Apparently a mace was an acceptable handbag these days. Diana had gone more conservative but that didn't mean Shayara upstaged her. Dressed in a vibrant, one shouldered red dress she looked every inch the Princess they often forgot she was. The dress harkened back to a Greek design without sacrificing a single curve.

"Well, who's best dressed now?" Shayara demanded. Diana looked less sure of herself and kept nervously running her hands over the fabric.

"You look fantastic," Lantern said quietly. Somehow Shayara caught his comment and shot him a smirk.

Flash whistled, "Smoking hot ladies," there was a blur and he reappeared in the tuxedo, the red mask slightly ruining the look, "if I may?" He held out his arms.

They took them. "Why would a woman want to wear these all time?" Diana asked, "Certainly they look nice but they're hardly practical."

Shayara smirked, "We went over this. For most women practicality takes a backseat to being a living man-lure."

They appeared at the door to Wayne Manor. Flash was distracted in about half a second, leaving the girls without escorts to go talk up a few giggling socialites coming out of a limo.

"Ever the gentleman," Superman grinned fondly, "Diana?" He held out his arm and she took it fondly

John wasn't sure whether he was thrilled or just scared for the life of his arm, "Shall we?"

Shayara took his arm, "Only if you help me find a spot to stash my mace."

* * *

><p>Bruce heard a commotion by the door. It was distracting him from distracting himself from whatever this blonde draped over his arm was saying in an alarmingly high voice. Then his eyes narrowed as a big S glared at him from across the room and on its arm was Wonder Woman, dressed in a way that would cause a lesser man to roll over and play dead if she asked.<p>

Bruce felt the Bat rear up inside his head but he visibly dropped his shoulders and pasted his best playboy fop smile on his face, "Excuse me darling," he said uncaringly, "I've got to welcome our famous guests."

"But Brucie," he heard her wail behind him. He didn't care; tonight Bruce Wayne was in the driver's seat.

And the car took a 180 when Alfred signaled him that Kayla was ready. Making his way up the stairs he found her in her room, pale and taking incredibly deep breathes.

"Ready for the show?" he asked softly not wanting to scare her.

She jumped anyways, "Bruce, maybe this is a bad idea."

"I don't doubt that it is," her face fell and he continued, "but I wouldn't have it any other way."

She smiled at him thankfully unable to say everything she felt but he understood her anyways and gave her a slight nod. Then his eyes narrowed as he took in her dress, "Where'd you get the dress?"

Kayla grew worried, "Alfred ordered it. Why?" Her eyes grew big, "Is there something wrong with it."

"Of course not," Bruce reassured her, "Let's go." As they made their way down the stairs she heard him mutter something about boys and dress and batarangs.

Kayla Wayne made her first step into the ballroom with a grin on her face, nervousness forgotten.

* * *

><p>"The League owes me," Diana growled in a tone that only Superman could hear. In twenty minutes she had been hit on, leered at and talked up more than she'd ever wanted to experience and she still hadn't met any of her three assigned targets.<p>

He spoke back quietly from halfway across the room, "Just keep thinking of the look on Batman's face when we figure it out." It helped, but only slightly. She was stuck in a conversation with Zubin Zucchini, Steven Walters and their dates. Zubin was an old wrinkled man who, despite having two twenty year olds accompanying him, persisted in cheap come-ons and in ogling her dress. Diana made a mental note to never go dress shopping with Shayara again, she had a different definition of 'modest'.

Although upon observing the room Shayara appeared to be one of two League members having a good time. Her target for the evening was Agnus McNab and instead of seeking him out, he had come straight to her as soon as he spotted the mace that she was trying to discreetly hide under an ornate tapestry. A fifty year old Scotsman McNab had used his wealth to fund his passion for weaponry and had apparently gathered quite the collection. Diana could hear them from across the room as they argued about the superiority of maces versus battleaxes.

Diana tried to subtly turn her own conversation towards something that might help her pick out a potential Batman or affiliate. She doubted Zubin's involvement more with each passing comment but Walters couldn't be ignored. He had the same strong chin as Batman, same general muscle build and acted aloof enough that Diana felt the same immediate dislike.

A man across the room called Zubin's name and Diana used the slight pause in conversation to ask Walters, "So Mr. Walters what does a billionaire such as yourself do with his time?'

The man sniffed, "Whatever I feel like Wonder Woman." Diana checked the pretentious column.

"Please call me Diana, but Steve you must have some hobbies?" she queried.

Steve Walters raised an eyebrow, "Call me Walters if you please, a hobby requires a certain learning curve, a desire to better oneself. Every hobby," he annunciated, "that I have attempted to undertake has been mastered in an inordinately short period of time. In fact I've yet to find anything that I am unable to succeed at." The skillful and ego columns were check marked.

The band struck up a new song and Diana took a chance, "Would you care to dance?"

"I'm afraid I will have to pass," he said and she internally breathed a sigh of relief, "an old sporting injury had flared up recently."

Zubin attempted to rejoin the conversation, "Don't you believe a word he says about a sporting injury. The man is a known liar," the old man grinned, "I saw that injury the last time you wore shorts Walters, I was in the army you know! I know a stab wound when I see one."

Walters shrugged, "Never the less, I maintain the sports story. Zubin, ladies, Wonder Woman, if you would excuse me." He strolled away; leaving Diana more than convinced that he had to be the odious man behind the bat mask.

Flash popped over for a chat, "Hey Di! How goes it?"

Diana held in the urge to massage her temple, "pretty much as expected," she admitted, "you?"

"I'm having a blast!" Flash beamed, "pretty girls, dancing, free food, what more could a guy want?"

Diana smiled at his idea of paradise, "I thought Batman said you had a girl?"

"Yeah," Flash agreed, "she's great. Don't worry most of these girls are way out of my league and I'd never cheat on my girl! But," he paused, "a little dancing between friends never hurt anyone."

"You have friends here?" Diana was surprised.

"Well you guys," Flash grinned, "and Kayla Wayne and I attempted some kind of tango-like thing, neither of us were very good but she's fun. Smiles a lot, cute giggle," he shrugged, "I could be her friend. You should come meet her, she's not a stiff like everybody else here!" He grabbed Diana's hand and pulled her halfway across the ballroom.

"K-dog," Flash called. Kayla turned from her conversation with a redhead in a wheelchair.

"F-dog," she smiled, holding out her hand for a fist bump. Diana raised an eyebrow and held in a smile. Flash punched her fist and then turned to the redhead, "And who is this lovely lady?"

"Barbara Gordon."

"Care to dance?" Flash asked kindly, "It's only a party when you're on the dance floor."

Barbara actually smiled, "I suppose we could give it a go."

"Catch ya later Wondy, K-dog." He wheeled Barbara onto the dance floor.

Diana turned to the girl in front of her, "Diana," she held out her hand.

The girl shook it, "Kayla Wayne." She looked more than a little shell shocked, "Wonder Woman right?"

The Amazon smiled, "So I've been called, the name wasn't exactly my choice."

"Ah but what's in a name anyways," Kayla said glibly.

"People seem to put quite a bit of stock in yours." Diana noted.

Kayla shrugged, "Yeah, people are like funny like that. A week ago I could like go the store by myself and I had to totally wait in line with everyone else when I wanted to go anywhere. Get the name Wayne tacked on and in two hours it's like not safe to set foot outside and people go out of their way to make me happy." She sighed, "It's a little overwhelming." Then her eyes lit up again, "I love your dress by the way, it totally works for you. Daddikins didn't think that I could like pull off red. What does he know?" she rolled her eyes. "But whatever, it was easier to just go with green. What's it like?"

The constant change in topic had caused Diana to lose Kayla's train of thought, "I'm sorry?"

"My bad," the young Wayne giggled, "what's it like to fly? I know you're all about fighting bad guys and stuff but it's the flying that looks the most fun."

Diana opened her mouth to answer with her rehearsed answer but a familiar voice interrupted, "Having flown with Wonder Woman before you I can assure you that it's like nothing you'll ever forget."

Diana held her displeasure inside as she turned to Lex Luthor, "Luthor," she let the hint of disapproval linger in the air, "I'm surprised to see you here."

"I'm still the who's who of Metropolis," he reminded her. Turning to Kayla he said, "It's a lovely party Miss Wayne," clasping her hand he bestowed a kiss on her knuckles. Diana fought the sudden urge to punch Lex just for touching the innocent girl.

"Actually Wonder Woman I was hoping to borrow you for a moment," Lex continued, "Care to dance?"

Diana desperately wanted to say no but since Luthor's 'reform' the League had been trying to stay on relatively good terms with the 'businessman'.

"Of course," she inclined, "Kayla, it was wonderful to meet you."

"Likewise," the girl said. Only the touch of Lex on her arm stopped the grin that threatened to erupt as Diana saw Kayla subtly wipe her knuckles off on a nearby table cloth.

They had danced for about thirty seconds without saying anything when Diana finally had to ask, "Lex you said you wanted something?"

He nodded, "Just a dance, nothing more." She arched an eyebrow at him and he felt the need to continue, "I'm not always malevolent Wonder Woman. Can't a man just want to dance with the most beautiful woman in the room?"

Every muscle in Diana's body begged to be allowed to slug the man through the elegant marble roof. In fact she was so tense that she jumped slightly when a voice asked in a pleasant tenor tone, "Luthor, you wouldn't mind if I stepped in would you? It is after all my party."

Diana turned slightly and found herself looking for the first time into the gorgeous blue eyes of renowned playboy, Bruce Wayne.


	7. Retrospect

I turn away from the broken temple of Athena. I had to stop there, to just take a moment to breath outside of the memories. It had always worked that way with me, when things got too intense I had to step back, look at it from another angle, re-evaluate. Because that moment mattered, the moment when the Princess and the Playboy first met, frankly in retrospect I'm amazed that it took that long.

Retrospect, it's an awful thing. A reminder of all the things you could have changed, all the wrong choices that you made, all the tragedy you caused. And I could be certain that this, this seemingly chance encounter, was a true tragedy. And I'd orchestrated it. Unintentionally perhaps or maybe with the best of intentions, but at the end of the day it was my fault that the two would meet. In fact my mere existence seemed to make the meeting inevitable.

I spent a solid week here on the island trying to find somewhere to pass the blame. I initially wanted to blame those whose fault it was that I existed. They had created me through a series of their own choices that all came to fruition in a dark shadow on a rainy Gotham night. But where to stop the blame when you set it off in that direction? What people did they meet, what choices were made around and to them that made them who they are? This is the heart of the blame game, it never stops. You can chase it all the way back to the beginning of everything, you have to blame it on God, blame it on chaos, blame it on eternity, blame it on everything, and therefore blame it on nothing.

There is no-one else to blame. That night I sat by and watched it all happen, not realizing, ignorant, stupidly happy. Personally I was more interested in the interaction between the giggling girl and the wonderful woman, but the world would suffer from the Playboy and the Princess so that's where my mind goes now. See Wonder Woman and Batman were ok, even though Diana and Batman were pushing it, it was ok. But the Princess and the Playboy, they doomed us all. Because it was a simple matter for the Princess and the Playboy to become the Princess and Bruce and then Diana and Bruce and then it was too late.

I should have known the moment the sea blue eyes of melted ice met the eyes of the Mediterranean that it was too late. But I didn't.


	8. Playboy's Dance

The evening was more of a surveillance mission than a party. Bruce spent most of the evening trying to keep one eye on his daughter and the other on various members of the League, all while maintaining the dashing debonair image he portrayed. He talked politics with Luthor and Zucchini while watching Lantern talk up Ricci while having an involuntary eye twitch at the sight of Kayla dancing with Flash. Bruce watched Wonder Woman flirt with Walters, Kayla laugh at her date, all while dancing with Hawkgirl. He'd felt up her wings playboy style, had gotten a slap across the face, a glare from John and a boost to his reputation all while insuring that the hands of whoever was dancing with Kayla stayed firmly at the waist.

Bruce had gotten temporarily trapped by a couple of blonds and had just managed to ditch them for the punch bowl when he saw something that made every part of him, from the Bat to the man to the playboy to the father, growl. Luthor was talking to Diana and Kayla. Then Luthor brought Diana to the dance floor.

He scanned the room for the big blue buffoon. For all of his many faults Superman could be counted on for two things, to hate Luthor and protect his friends. Bruce was counting on that working in his favour tonight. He let out a small groan when he noticed that Superman was firmly stuck in Sophia Starr's clutches. Bruce had been there before and knew from experience that there was absolutely no excuse that let you get away. Superman was going to be no help, as usual.

As Bruce reached this conclusion he found himself standing directly behind the dancing couple and uttering words he'd never thought he'd say around Diana,

"Luthor, you wouldn't mind if I stepped in would you? It is after all my party."

"Wayne," Lex looked miffed, "Of course, if the lady agrees."

Diana said yes a little too quickly to be polite.

And so, for the second time in a month Bruce Wayne found himself in an unanticipated situation with no rational clue as how to proceed. Taking one of her hands in his own he placed the other on her waist and began to guide her around the dance floor. Despite his tongue suddenly going dry the playboy still managed to keep up the façade,

"I'm surprised you would dance with Lex Luthor," he said, careful to keep his voice away from the deep baritone that signified Batman.

She shrugged, "He asked me, what else was I supposed to say?"

"Most people try 'no'" he said with a grin.

Diana looked at him oddly, "Most people wouldn't describe me as most people. Still," she acquiesced, "I appreciate the rescue."

He beamed the playboy smiled, "How could I resist? What man wouldn't want to be able to say that he rescued Wonder Woman from the clutches of Lex Luthor?"

For a moment she just looked at him, and then out of nowhere she chuckled, "I suppose you now think that you can join the ranks of Justice League?" Bruce was slightly distracted, it was one thing to grab her to tackle her to the ground and avoid imminent death, but it was quite another to be holding her in less desperate circumstances. Still he managed an automatic playboy response,

"Of course not," Bruce looked affronted, and she raised an eyebrow, "I'd have to get a costume first." He faked a pensive look, "something shirtless I think. The ladies always have a thing for shirtless superheroes." He winked at her.

Diana was trying to look affronted but couldn't quite manage it, there was a twinkle in his eye that made anything he said seem like a joke, "And I take it," she said, "that the ladies mean quite a bit to you?"

"Well I am Bruce Wayne; I couldn't possibly step out of character." He noticed that she twitched slightly under his hand, missing half a step to appraise him better.

"So you're the infamous playboy Bruce Wayne," Diana said, "I must admit you're not living up to your legend, we've been dancing for thirty seconds and you've yet to accost me in any way."

"Is that a suggestion?"

She blushed slightly, "Just an observation."

"Better be careful with those Your Highness, lesser men might fall prey to your wiles." He grinned, amused at her comment.

Diana changed the subject, "The 'Your Highness' is technically incorrect, that's reserved for formality."

He quirked an eyebrow, "Then what would you prefer?"

She considered it, "Diana will be fine."

He shook his head, "I'm afraid it won't, the man who raised me would have my head if I ever called royalty by their common name. You'll have to think of something better Your Highness." His eyes dared her and she rose to the challenge.

An idea came to her on a whim, "Call me Princess then."

"Very well Princess," deciding to pick things up a notch he began to lead her into a more complicated dance pattern noting with surprise the ease with which she followed.

"Did you meet my daughter?" He asked.

Diana smiled, "I did, she's lovely."

"Inherited that from her mother," Bruce said wistfully, then with more purpose, "she claims that she's your biggest fan, spent the whole afternoon afraid she'd trip over her tongue when speaking to you."

The music stopped and he guided her off the dance floor.

"I must ask Mr. Wayne,"

"Bruce," he interrupted.

Diana continued, "Bruce then, are the rumours widely exaggerated? You were more or less the perfect gentleman; the tabloids would have me believe that you are trying to stick your tongue down the mouth of any pretty girl.

He kissed her knuckles, "I only make exceptions for the truly beautiful ones Princess." Two pairs of blue eyes met once more.

Then all hell broke loose. The windows to the ballroom shattered as thirty thugs with guns rammed through them, letting off a few stun grenades and smoke bombs for good measure.

Diana rolled her eyes, "If you'd excuse…" but Brue Wayne was no longer beside her, in fact she spotted him taking off across the room. Shrugging she joined the rest of the League in ending what had to be the shortest mass robbery in Gotham's history, a grand total of fifty-six seconds.

"Boy you guys are stupid!" Flash said to the thugs tied up in curtains, "trying to rob a party with the Justice League in attendance."

Lantern had his ring out and was securing the rest, "Is that everybody?"

"Not quite," a polished voice called from the crowd, "here." The room watched as Steven Walters personally delivered two men to the Justice League, looking hardly worse for the wear. "They were hiding behind a curtain" he explained.

"And then fell into a pool of blood?" Flash asked looking the men over.

Walters sniffed, "I took care of them, that should be enough. I assume the party is over, where is Wayne?"

The man in question crawled out from underneath a table as most of the room started laughing, "That's Wayne for you," seemed to be the theme resounding around the room.

Bruce Wayne smiled good naturedly, "Just trying to help clean up under there. Unfortunately yes Walters, I'm afraid that will be all for tonight as my evening now appears to be full of paperwork. I thank you all for coming, I thank the Justice League for their appearance and intervention and I hope that you all have a wonderful evening."

* * *

><p>"Master Bruce," Alfred said while lounging on the couch, "next time you plan to pay men to invade the manor would you be so kind as to let me know in advance? It seems such a waste to clean if everything is only going to be destroyed."<p>

Alfred, Tim and Kayla were sitting on chairs watching Bruce clean up the ballroom all by himself.

"So let me get this straight," Tim said, "you paid thugs a large sum of money to attack your own mansion so that you could secure your reputation as a spineless coward." Bruce said nothing as Tim thought it through, "Genius, in a convoluted, I have too much money kind of way."

"That doesn't explain why he couldn't tell us," Kayla pouted.

Bruce dumped glass into a garbage can, "I needed your reactions to be legitimate and I couldn't risk the J'onn attending and accidently reading your mind. Besides," he pointed the broom at her, "it was your bright idea to invite the Justice League."

"You know why I did that!" She protested.

"Still. Your. Fault."

Kayla got up and grabbed a dustpan, "Fine."

Bruce used the Batman voice, "Tim?"

"Nuh uh, no way, I am not cleaning this up. I just spent the evening washing the Batmobile."

"Clean or squats."

Tim grabbed another broom muttering under his breath, "endless taskmaster…. Squats… not MY fault… geez."

Alfred watched them for another minute before finally taking pity on his charges, "Master Bruce, Master Timothy, Miss Kayla, I've already called a service, they'll be here in five minutes to clean up the mess."

**I'm curious, who do you want to hear more from? I've got the story planned out but the point of view can always focus on different places: Bruce, Diana, Tim, Kayla, the League, Alfred, whoever… or whatever, you've got a sudden hankering for pie? I'll see what I can do. It's more fun that way cause there's a challenge. As always reviews are still welcome. **


	9. Batman's Dance

The next unofficial meeting of the Justice League was an interesting one.

"Alright," J'onn started them off, "Did anybody find anything last night?"

"Bruce Wayne is not Batman," Diana, Shayara and John all said at the same time, words tumbling over each other.

J'onn looked surprised, "And you've reached this conclusion how?"

"He hit on Shayara," John said firmly, "Batman wouldn't do that."

Diana looked shocked but Flash started laughing, "Oh yeah I saw that, Shy smacked him clean across the face. Funny stuff, yeah Bats would know better than to piss of an angry girl with a mace."

"The man was a stupid, idiotic pervert, exactly as the newspapers describe," Shayara said angrily, "and if we know one thing it's that Batman is not stupid. The only thing those two have in common is that I want to smash both their skulls in with my mace."

"What about you Diana?" J'onn asked, trying to distract Shayara from her wrath and bring Wonder Woman back to the conversation.

"He was nothing but pleasant to me," Diana admitted, "he even rescued me from having to dance with Luthor."

Superman exploded, "You danced with Luthor! Diana I know we're trying to be tolerant of the man but there are certain lines that we don't need to cross…"

"He asked me," Diana interrupted, "I couldn't very well have said no, that would have been rude. But back to Wayne, the man cannot be Batman. He acted pleasant, clearly loves his daughter and," she blushed slightly, "he flirted with me."

Superman looked even angrier.

"Plus," Diana continued, "on a whim I told him to call me Princess, like Batman does when he's trying to annoy me, they sounded nothing the same. Although I suppose he could be the financial backer."

"AAAAAnd," Flash added, "Did you see him when those guys busted up the place? He was hiding under a table? Can you image Batman hiding?" Flash puffed his chest out in a Batman imitation, "I am the dark, I am the night, I am the vengeance, I am hiding under a table, I am Batman!" There were smiles all around at the idea.

J'onn once again brought them back to focus, "Then who do we think could be Batman?"

"Well I can tell you for sure that Starr's not funding him," Superman said, "she spent the entire night following me around, saying how much she hated Gotham and that she wanted to move to Metropolis and would I come visit her if she did."

"McNab could be funding him," Shayara commented, "he's got the love of weaponry, the cash and the time but I feel like if he were funding Batman there would be more axes and ancient lethal weapons involved."

Most of the other wealthy were a bust too; the League didn't think that these billionaires cared enough about their city to bother spending their money on a vigilant.

Finally Diana spoke up, "I think that Walters could be Batman."

"Oooooo, is that the guy who beat up those two thugs? Well he was harsh enough on them to be Bats that's for sure." Flash said excitedly.

Diana shrugged, "that and the entire time I spoke to him he had a familiar pretentious attitude that made me want to pummel him. Also Zucchini said something about Walters was a known liar and claims to have seen a stab wound in his calf. My gut says out of everyone we met at that party, Walters is our guy."

"Unfortunately Diana," J'onn said, "We can't confront Batman with nothing but your gut to back it up."

"So we get closer to Walters," Shayara said, "and closer to Batman."

"And closer to fire breathing dragons and hibernating bears and hungry sharks and J'onn when you take away his Oreos," Flash started reciting; "they're all mildly safer."

Shayara grinned slightly, "Diana's near invincible, I'm sure she'll be fine."

Diana sighed, "Why do your plans always involve Batman and I?"

"I have my reasons."

"I'm sure you do…" John mumbled, "but they only make sense to you."

Superman grinned, obviously overhearing but Shayara turned on her heel, "Something to say Lantern?"

"No ma'am" he said emphatically.

She shot him a look and then continued, "We'll all try to get closer to Batman Diana, but you've got the best opportunity, after all don't you have training with him this afternoon."

"Hera," Diana said, "I told you, I'm not taking instruction from that man."

J'onn looked uncomfortable, "Actually Diana, I also recommend that you attend this session with Batman, for both disclosing his identity and for training."

Wonder Woman's eyes narrowed, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Batman has his reason for choosing you," J'onn said cautiously, very aware that he had a delicate situation on his hands, "and his reasoning is usually solid."

"If you don't like that, you're really not going to like this," Shayara said, "I need you to go on a date with Walters." Upon her words the entire room braced themselves for Amazonian rage, they weren't disappointed.

* * *

><p>Grudgingly Diana went to the training room to meet Batman, knowing that in retrospect cracking the League's table in half had been a little bit extreme but not feeling particularly sorry.<p>

"You're late," was the only kind of greeting she received.

She brushed past him into the room, "You owe the League a new conference room table,"

"Do I." It was a statement, not a question. He gestured to a large punching bag, "Hit it."

With an evil grin she did so and the bag went flying off its brace and into the wall, "Next?"

He pointed to the rest of the punching bags and she let her fists fly, "Why do I owe the League a new table when you broke it Princess."

Diana paused, "How did you know that I… have you been watching us?"

He stared at her like this should be obvious. She smiled wryly, "Of course, you're Batman, you watch everybody because no-one can be trusted." He said nothing. She made short work of the punching bags until there was a pile across the room and a crack in the wall, "What is the point of this?"

He still didn't answer; he just stared at her with those unblinking eyes, aggravating her without doing a thing. Diana had an overwhelming urge to break that façade, to make him express something, some kind of emotion, any emotion, "Batman," she said harshly, "you said you wanted me here, I'm here are we going to do something productive or are you just going to stand there uselessly."

He answered her seriously, "I'm trying to decide if you're trainable Princess." It was the 'Princess' that did it, that set her off the edge she'd been teetering on since this whole identity crisis had started. He said it with just the right amount of condensation, as if he'd already that a Princess could never be a warrior, that she was a waste of his time.

Wonder Woman attacked Batman. Not to hurt him or even to unmask him, just to prove that she could, that he had no right to stand there and judge them all. She was on her back, pinned beneath him in thirty seconds. She could have pushed him off with her super strength but he got up of his own accord, "Sloppy Princess," he cautioned.

"How in Hades did you do that?" She said as she got to her feet.

He watched her, "Anger makes you sloppy, all attack, no defense. You need to control your emotions"

"Like you?" She scoffed, "I was raised to express my emotions as they come and I'm stronger for it."

"If you say so," Diana was surprised to see him wave his hand towards her in a 'bring it on' manner. She was happy to oblige.

She swung at the air where he head had been as he rolled out of the way then propelled himself forward on the balls of his hands, swinging his legs towards hers. She tumbled forward but grabbed him on the way down, swinging him underneath her. She landed on top of him only to have him roll them both sideways faster than she thought possible. Diana pushed him straight up to break his hold and unsurprisingly he landed on his feet.

She began swinging through one of the more complicated fight sequences she had perfected growing up on the island, even Artemis had trouble defeating her when she chose to use this pattern. Batman was not Artemis.

Using a move she'd never seen him utilize he managed to dodge her blow and wrap his hands behind her head, throwing her off balance. Taking advantage of that he made a subtle move with his foot and tripped her up, sending her face first into the floor. Before she could get back up he was on top of her, locked into a position that prevented her from moving. Certainly she could have used her superpowers but somehow Diana felt like that would be cheating. They were frozen in the awkward position, her face in the floor, his chest on her back, hands pinned under his gloves and legs tangled in a way that would probably have broken her legs if she were completely human.

Diana refused to yield, she would wait him out. He would tire, already she could feel his heavy breathe in her ear, it tickled unpleasantly but she wasn't about to complain.

"Giving up Princess," he asked.

She grunted, "Hardly." Something tugged in her stomach but Diana ignored it. She still had some leverage. Diana pushed up slightly, arching into an inverted V and sliding him slightly forward, "I do have one question," she queried trying to distract him, "why are you training me and not the others?" It didn't work; using his weight he slammed her back to the ground. Then she felt two sharp jabs in her upper back and fell unconscious.

She awoke fifteen minutes later tied to a metal support beam in the training room by her own lasso with Batman watching her. She struggled for a minute but then gave up, knowing that not even Wonder Woman could break the lasso's power.

"What," she asked icily, "is the point of this?"

Batman observed her just as coldly, "It's a reminder Princess."

"Of the strength of my own lasso," she didn't like to use sarcasm but it was the last weapon she currently had.

"Of the fact that you're not invincible," Batman said moving closer.

That threw her for a moment, "I know that," she hissed, "immortal and invincible are not the same thing. Many Amazons have died in battle, I hold no illusions to that fact."

"Then start acting like it," Batman's eyes narrowed, "how much training have you had since you left the island?"

She arched her neck, "I train myself."

"Like an Amazon." He added.

"Naturally."

"But you're not on the island anymore Diana," his use of her name threw her anger, "you're in a world of men, with hundreds of different techniques, with hundreds of people who want to kill you, with a handful of masters who could do so if you were ever caught off guard or without your powers. You can't bounce bullets off your chest. You can't phase through them. You can't superspeed around them. You can't create a full body shield. You've got to stand in the path of whatever's coming at you and face it head on."

Diana was afraid that she was gaping at him like a child, never before had she heard him say so much that wasn't a command or an order or a strong recommendation. He actually sounded concerned for her.

"Your fighting style is powerful," he continued, "versatile, but not endless. You need to supplement it with moves from other disciplines but more importantly, you need to learn control. You're stubborn and impulsive and make rash, emotional decisions that could get you killed when you're smart enough to think it through."

Diana couldn't decide if she was being insulted or complimented, her brain didn't seem to be working quite right. Batman had leaned towards her to untie the end of the lasso and somehow, even after being sweaty from fighting, he managed to smell good. The fact that she was thinking about how Batman smelled was causing alarm bells to blare in her head. He stepped back and expertly coiled the lasso, handing it to her.

He turned to go, "Think about it Princess, one week, don't be late this time."

Diana suddenly remember Shayara's request to get closer to Batman, certainly she'd gotten closer but she hadn't been watching for anything helpful. She tackled him in the back and to her surprise he buckled beneath her. Flipping him over she pinned him, this time using her super strength to hold him still, watching the exposed part of his face and comparing it to the men she'd seen at the party. She couldn't come up with any matches. He had a strong chin, and perhaps it was familiar, but nothing that she could identify.

Batman froze beneath her and suddenly Diana realized that she was running her finger along his jaw as she contemplated his identity. Her hand froze and they stared at each other, neither moving as she sat on his chest. Suddenly there was a loud noise and Superman burst into the training room.

"Diana! Batman! You would not believe what Luthor just said on…" The Man of Steel trailed off as he took in the scene in front of him, his jaw dropped. Diana felt herself blush.


	10. Bored with Batarangs

**This chapter goes out to everyone who told me that I needed to explain the differences between my AU world and the JL cartoon, I did it just for you. Therefore there are references to Starcrossed and Maid of Honor, I'm not filling in every single hole because I'm a big fan of reader imagination but hopefully this will get us all on the same relative page.**

It was the first time that Batman had been back in the company of the League since their unfortunate argument a few days previous but he was too distracted by the situation at hand to bother with their quick looks of anger.

Lex Luthor was running for president.

Batman kept a running list of things that could go wrong on the Batcave computer, it self-updated twice daily based on current events in the news and the reports he entered nightly. It included everything from an army of rogue Supermen to tiny pirates riding on the backs of ferrets to every Time Travel quandary he could think of. This scenario always made the top ten when organized by 'worst case scenario'.

Skirting the rubble that was the former League conference table Batman ran a search through all the major news sites and came up with a quick tally of events. Luthor was apparently running for president based on the current administrations' ineffectiveness at working properly with metas. Batman spared a short moment for the irony then continued. Unfortunately Luthor was running his campaign on an 'anyone can turn around, we can all rise from the ashes of our past mistakes' kind of platform which Batman suspected would actually appeal to quite a portion of the American population. Worst of all though was that Luthor was funding his campaign almost entirely on his own fortune, Batman couldn't cut Luthor off from his own funds quite as easily as he could have persuaded others not to fund him.

Superman was literally shaking in his bright red boots with anger, "How does he think that he has any chance of making this work? The man is a menace who's gotten off on more than a few technicalities. I should go out there right now and expose what he is to the people."

Batman thought about commenting but J'onn spoke up, "I'm afraid you cannot do that Superman."

"It would be simple," Superman plotted, "save a man falling off a building, bring him down, happen to mention to the press that Lex Luthor tried to kill me multiple times. Problem solved."

"The League doesn't get involved in matters of politics," J'onn reminded him, "we need to stay neutral."

"But its Luthor," Superman yelled, "the man is unfit for presidency."

Batman turned from the monitors and folded his cape around him, eyeing Superman, "You'll be kicked out of the League."

The others looked shocked, "We'd never do that!" Flash objected.

"It doesn't matter what you want to do," Batman said coldly, "the paperwork clearly states the punishment for choosing to back a politic figure in an election. The League cannot afford to make political enemies, the League cannot be trusted to maintain its neutrality otherwise. We need to be able to work with whoever is in power, wherever they are in the world if we want to do our jobs."

His words silenced their objections, of course they all wanted to do their jobs.

Flash tried again, "Yeah but, who'd know about the paperwork?"

"We would," Diana sighed, "we can't claim to stand for truth and justice while we're lying and breaking our own, unfortunately important rules."

"But we can't sit around and do nothing," Superman said, "Luthor must be dealt with."

"Agreed," Batman surprised them. Then he did something that they rarely saw him do, putting a hand to his ear, Batman flinched in pain. Surprisingly the red and blue superhearing duo did the same.

"What was that?" Diana asked emphatically.

Batman turned quickly, "I have to go."

"But Luthor…" Superman protested.

"I'll deal with it," Batman snapped, "like I always do." He swept out the door calling behind him, "and stay out of Gotham."

* * *

><p>Bruce barely managed to keep himself from running out of the conference room to the teleporter when the Batcave's alarm went off, but he still made it faster than a human should have. Entering his emergency bypass code into the teleporter he appeared in a dark corner of the cave specifically designed for sneak entrances such as this. The Cave appeared quiet but Batman knew that meant nothing, anyone who had gotten in here would be a professional. Bat-a-rangs in hand he rounded the Cave's corners so silently even a ninja would have been jealous.<p>

He caught a noise by the BatComputer and crept forward with the intention of knocking the intruder unconscious then stopped abruptly at the scene in front of him. There was a Bat-a-rang embedded in one of his computer screens, one of the more expensive ones part of his brain noted, and standing on _his_ chair trying to remove it was one Kayla Wayne.

"What," Batman growled, "Is going on here?"

Kayla didn't jump but remained focused on the shattered screen in front of her, "There may have been a small incident involving boredom, bat-a-rangs, curiosity and pride."

"You're standing on my chair," the growl said.

Sarcasm dripped out of the girl's tone, "I'm sorry you're right, I should have stood on the computer keyboard." Without waiting for a reply she continued, "Tim's at school, Alfred's been out all day doing errands, you'll edit the camera sound feed so don't tell me that I broke character, you have no idea how sick I am of using the word 'like' and giggling. It's fine in moderation but you seriously have no idea what it's like to be forced to be an idiot." She gave up on the bat-a-rang and dropped into the chair with a plop, "at least you choose to act like a fop and it only has to be for 10% of the time. Imagine doing it all day, with everyone."

Batman pulled back the cowl and finally allowed himself to sigh, "You set off the silent alarm."

"Did I?" She shrugged, "I'll let Barbara know that she was wrong about the code."

Bruce raised an eyebrow and she explained, "She's been teaching me how to hack." At the look on her father's face she continued, "I'm bored! Bored out of my brain! You and Barbara are the only ones I can actually talk to and you're both always working so it's either learn about what you're doing or sit around and memorize fashion magazines for the fifth time."

Bruce observed his daughter and a small smile quirked at the corner of his mouth, "How's that going?"

Kayla smirked back, "I can now name any big name designer on site, I can safely tell you that your Batsuit isn't grey it's called 'Bleached Shadow' and I know other various, pointless facts about fashion, partying and manners. Everything a good little rich girl should know." Then the grin turned dangerous, "not that I intend on being the good little rich girl often."

"Duly noted," Batman said with less fear than he felt, "Care to explain why there's a bat-a-rang in the computer now?"

"Not particularly," she said innocently.

His eyes narrowed, "too bad, out of my chair."

She hopped out of the way while he brushed past her, "Ok fine, there's a slight chance that I wanted to see if I could throw one of those properly."

"Clearly you can't."

"Obviously," she sighed, "I thought it would be easy too, I mean I mastered the grappling hook in twenty minutes."

The Bat voice came back, "You've been touching the grapples?"

The blue eyes widened, "Noooooooooooo."

"And just how long were you 'practicing' with the bat-a-rangs."

The blue eyes dropped to the floor, "An hour and a half," she flashed him her best Wayne smile, "the batmobile needs a new tire, I cracked two of the costume cases, severed the rope on the trapeze and lost a dozen to the roof and walls of the cave."

The glare that caused the Justice League to quake hardly dazed the eighteen year old before him as she tried to look repentant but obviously found the whole thing funny.

"You're cleaning the cave tonight, top to bottom, with a toothbrush."

"Slightly harsh," Kayla complained.

He gave her his best 'I am your father and you will listen to me' glare, "I warned you about touching this stuff. You cannot under any circumstances get involved in the life of Batman."

She bite her lip and thought about it, the look was so reminiscent of her mother that for a moment Bruce ached, she broke his train of thought by saying, "I'll stop touching this stuff if you'll promise to always answer me truthfully with more than two words when I ask a question."

"Deal," he said knowing that it was simple matter to turn everything into three word answers.

Her eyes gleamed and he sensed that perhaps she'd anticipated his strategy, "Why was the League really here for the party?"

"My secret identity." He turned towards the computer, examining the remaining screens.

"They don't know it?"

"No, they don't."

"Do you know there civilian ids? No don't answer that, of course you do. Why won't you tell them your identity?" Kayla queried.

He said it like it should be obvious, "Keeps us safe."

"But they're your friends," she screeched slightly, "the Justice League, they're not about to sell you out or anything. You've known them way longer than you've me or even Tim I bet."

Batman didn't say anything as he ordered a new table for the League conference room. So Kayla rephrased as a question, "Do you want to tell them?"

There was a small hitch in the typing, "Irrelevant, I can't."

"Okay, so you want to tell them." Kayla grinned at his side profile, "but you haven't. Have you ever come close?"

"The Thanagarian Invasion."

She threw herself into his line of vision, eyes determined, "There's a story there. Look just tell me this one with more than three words, I promise that I'll go back upstairs right after."

He considered her for a moment then began, "A day after the Thanagarian army first landed on Earth and announced their 'peaceful intensions' Shayara came to the League privately and told us the truth about what they were doing. We then prepared a plan to take the Thanagarians down from the inside. Unfortunately the Commander became wise to her betrayal, captured her and set his army against us. We were forced to make a run for it. In order to escape a there was a plan proposed to pass ourselves off as ordinary civilians. Before we could implement I the Thanagarian army burst into our hiding place, we were forced to fight them off. Flash, J'onn and I stole a plane and eventually dropped the Watchtower on their base."

"And people blame Shayara?" Kayla was outraged, "she betrayed her own people to save us!"

"People see what they want to see," Batman went back to his typing, "You know that as well as anyone."

She quieted immediately, "Ok, I guess I'll go up as promised. But I was like totally hoping that your story would be more cute and like less military." Her voice rose progressively as she said the words.

Batman listened to her go, then just before she got to the stairs Bruce said, "There was one other time." The footsteps stopped, "I was in Paris checking on a Kasnia operation using a Bruce Wayne party as a cover. About half an hour in Wonder Woman showed up despite not being on any of the guest lists. She walked into the room and was immediately accosted by the crowds. I almost went over to rescue her, to ask her to dance, but I held back. Later that night I was forced to meet her in her hotel room as Batman to discuss the case I was working on."

"A dance is hardly telling your secret," Kayla said softly.

Bruce stared at the screen, "She would have figured it out, I wasn't, I wasn't my usual playboy that night and seeing two prominent Gotham figures in such short succession." Batman shook his head to clear it, "she's smart enough to figure it out given that scenario."

The cave rang with silence.

"Now go upstairs," came the curt order.

She paused on the last step, "Goodnight Bruce, stay safe."

* * *

><p>Diana was having an interesting evening, she was about to meet 'Clark Kent' for the first time. In an effort to calm Superman down from his current bout of 'Luthor-rage' as Flash called it, Diana had asked Superman how she was going to get the requested date with Steven Walters. He in turn had suggested that she meet him in Metropolis as he 'had an idea about that'. Perhaps in light of current events determining Batman's identity should have fallen by the wayside but Diana found it a useful distraction, and she was hardly going to back away from a true challenge. She sipped her iced mocha and ran a hand over the new pair of blue jeans, unused to the feeling.<p>

"Diana," a friendly voice called. She searched for the source and then proceeded to almost bust a gut laughing at it.

The man in question tried to look offended but his natural congenial nature shone through, "It's not that funny."

Diana glanced over him again, noting everything from the slouch to the clothes to the glasses. The frames were large and outdated, the suit was one size too big and the man who usually towered above everyone was now at eye level. "It most certainly is funny. How does that fool anyone?"

"They're not looking for anything," he shrugged, "besides when I'm standing next to Lois no-one notices me."

"The Man of Steel is a mild mannered reporter," Diana chuckled, "who would have guessed. Maybe I should get myself a pair of glasses and walk onto the Watchtower," she teased, "I bet everyone would sound the intruder alert, Kal."

"Clark," he reminded her, "Clark Kent, you can't slip that up when we get there."

She gamely followed him down the road, "So tell me Clark," she emphasized, "how do you know Steven Walters?"

"I don't," he admitted, "I typically stay far away from Gotham city but Lois did the beat over there back in her early days. She may have a contact we can use. Fair warning," he winced, "she's a little intense. She's been on my case since she told me that she knew about the whole Clark Kent/ Superman thing."

Diana thought about it for a moment, "You probably deserve it."

**Reviews, good or bad (constructive criticism) are always welcome.**


	11. Drunk

Batman and Robin came home early from patrol that night. It had been a fairly routine run, oddly quiet, but not entirely unexpected with all of the 'big names' safely locked up in Arkham. Although neither hero would have counted on them staying there much longer, Arkham suffered from a 'revolving door complex'.

"It's only 2am!" Tim said cheerfully, hopping out of the Batmobile, "And no-one's injured, no big battles, we're home early, it's a going to be a good day. I can get my homework done before I go to bed."

"You should get some sleep," Batman said, somehow already having managed to slip behind the computer.

Tim snorted, "Riiiiiiiight, like I could ever fall asleep anymore before 3, come on Bruce you know better than that. My internal clock's all wac-a-doodle."

Bruce said nothing as he methodically began to update files, but he didn't contradict his charge either.

Alfred came down the stairwell, "Welcome back Master Bruce, Master Timothy, I see that you will not be requiring my services this evening."

"Not unless you've got a new remedy for papercuts," Tim said, holding up his finger with a grin.

Alfred shook his head, "I'm afraid you're going to have to suffer in silence my boy."

"Ah well, such is the life," Robin shrugged.

"That could get infected," Batman said absently.

Tim rolled his eyes, "And you could smile, I'd say the chances are about the same." Tim bounced over to the computer, "And what could you possibly be updating? There was nobody big, not even the regular crime bosses, just the every evening common Gotham scum."

Batman shut the file down quickly, "I'm temporarily suspending a case."

"A case? What case? I didn't know you had another case." Time was intrigued.

Batman shrugged off the cowl, "Personal case, but at this point Luthor and the League need to take precedence. Alfred, is Kayla still awake? I need to let her know."

Tim laughed, "Bruce it's two in the morning, you wake her up and she'll kill you, right Alfred."

They both looked to the butler who had a slightly stunned look on his face, "Master Bruce, may I assume from your comment that you are unaware of Miss Kayla's nightly actives?"

"She's out" it was neither a question nor a comment that poured from Batman's mouth, just a growl.

The butler checked his watch with a brief glow of anger flashing in his own eyes, "She should be home within the half-hour sir. I suggest we wait to meet her."

"Alfred," Tim was concerned, "Where is she?"

"Currently she's being a Wayne, in under thirty minutes, she'll be in trouble." Alfred said curtly, "provided of course that she's in any state to understand, which if she's true to form, is unlikely."

The three men made their way up to the manor as Alfred explained, "Miss Kayla came to me a few days ago and expressed an interest in joining 'the party scene' as she called it. I told her to take the matter up with you Master Bruce; she assured me that she had so I did not interfere." Alfred shrugged his shoulders, "she had not lied to be before and I saw no reason to bother you. I'm surprise you didn't see her in the Gotham Gazette yesterday morning; there was a whole article on her exploits."

"Tim takes the LifeStyle section." Bruce said bluntly.

The boy wonder shook his head as they left the cave, "It was missing yesterday, I assumed you had it." His eyes sparkled slightly, "Props to her though for fooling the world's best detective."

The girl in question promptly stumbled through the mansion's front door yelling over her shoulder, "S'Night boys, go'way, my dad'll kills you," then bursting into giggles as she sank to the carpet, "Hellllllllllooooooooo," she sang upon spotting the trio.

Alfred went over to help the girl up but Bruce stopped him, "Where were you?"

Kayla tried to think about it, "uuhhhhhhh, the places with the purple flamingo, s'then the zoo and the silly monkeyshs and maybe there was three, sheven, ten, at lot of places," she said giving up. Staring up at her father she said, "You look all shquinty, angry, squishy, batty, glare, creepy man, that's silly," she giggled again, "I'm helping." She said getting to her feet and falling towards Bruce, who instinctively caught her.

"Squishy?" Tim asked under his breath trying not to laugh at the sight of the Batman trying to hold up a drunk teenaged girl.

"Miss Kayla," Alfred tried to intercede, "perhaps it would be best if we finished this conversation when you are once again fully in control."

She grinned tried to step towards him and got tangled up in her own legs, "I alwaysh have controlssss," then dropping her voice she growled, "Caush I'm Batman."

"Of course Miss." She wasn't paying attention, "TIM!" she stumbled towards him, "little brother, you undershtand ri?" Tim shook his head grinning at the look on Bruce's face, a unique mixture of 'oh shit' and 'why me'.

"Well," Kayla said conspiringly, her breath smelling of alcohol as she threw an arm around his neck, "if I'M Kayla Wayne then he," she pointed a shaky finger at Bruce, "doeshn't have to be sho Bruce Wayne. Shomone hash to be the idiot for the peoplesh to shee, then yoush'all can be batties forever. I'm the, uhhhhhh, shmokestakc, nooooo, smokescreen, yaaaas, that." She grinned triumphantly.

"Why don't we get you to bed Miss?" Alfred asked eventually.

"Nooooooooo," she moaned, "I've gotsh to partizlle."

The three men eventually managed to wrestle her into her bedroom where she promptly dropped onto the bed and fell asleep, seeing no other choice they left her as she was. Tim went off to his own bedroom while Alfred watched Bruce absently wander downstairs.

"I have no idea what I'm doing Alfred," the man said at last.

The butler chuckled, "A refreshing change of pace sir."

"I'm serious Alfred," Bruce reiterated, "I'm going to mess this up, I'm going to mess her up, I don't even know how to talk to her."

Alfred patted Bruce on the shoulder, "You'll talk to her the same way you do to everyone else, one word at a time. These things will come Master Bruce, and sir if I may be so bold? Of course you're going to mess her up." The bruised knuckles tightened tightly on the table until Alfred continued, "That's the job of a parent sir, to take a child and mess them up in their own special way. And knowing you sir, it will be spectacularly done."

* * *

><p>"Shayara drop!" Superman yelled as he threw the nearest lightpost at the man speeding towards her head. It connected with a definitive 'thunk' as Sinestro was thrown twenty feet down the street. It was an unusual collection of villains Sinestro, Deadshot, Shade, Bizarro, Livewire, and the Royal Flush Gang minus Ace.<p>

Superman barely had time to turn around before he was smashed into a nearby building by Ten and electrocuted by Livewire. The Man of Steel may have been invulnerable but that didn't mean electricity wasn't annoying. Every time he started to get to his feet though, Ten would pound him again.

Batman flipped over a the remains of a hotdog stand as a piece of metal ripped through the air precariously close to where his head had been. He'd taken care of Deadshot but unfortunately there wasn't a lot he could do to Queen from this distance, all of his projectiles were metal and she would only turn them against him. He made a mental note to fix that later. Lobbing a smoke bomb over his shoulder he rolled forward, trying to regain his advantage in close quarters.

Flash had his own problems trying to clear civilians from the area. He could never quite understand why people ended up running back towards disasters and although catching them wasn't hard, it was distracting. It didn't help that King was shooting fireballs at them, but every time Wally went to knock him out there was one more cry for help from a civilian about to be crushed by debris or who'd fallen down something.

J'onn found himself faced with Bizarro. Although he was currently intangible the monster continued to pound away at him, the only thing this was accomplishing was that it was preventing J'onn from regaining enough matter to hit Bizarro back. Reaching out to the beast's mind was pointless as well; it was a chaotic mess that would take even J'onn years to decipher. J'onn was effectively stuck where he was.

Green Lantern took off after Sinestro, furious that he'd even given the Yellow Lantern the opportunity to go after Shayara. Creating a large, green hammer John took a little bit of joy in watching his opponent get smashed. Sinestro countered with a hammer of his own and the two were off again in an evenly matched battle of power.

Wonder Woman was dealing with Shade, surprised that he'd even attacked her seeing as her lasso could repel any darkness he tried to consume her with. The man was being intentionally illusive, disappearing into his shadows the second she came within punching distance, readying the lasso she attempted to catch him in it but he pointed his cane at her and the black magic sent her flying back.

As Shayara dropped a few feet to avoid the murderous Lantern above her, she felt two hands reach out and grab her feet, pulling her back towards the ground. It was Jack and Shayara grinned at him evilly, knowing that do to his elastic nature this was one bad guy that she could actually hit with her mace and not feel guilty.

Batman's mind was whirling as his peripheral took in the information around him, his instincts screaming that something was wrong. Dodging a pathetic blow from Queen he leaped feet first and pummeled her to the ground. She responded with an army of small metal shards that flew towards him like dogs with a scent. Mentally wincing he continued on his chosen path, dropping and whirling he knocked her unconscious with a quick jab to the windpipe and although half of the shards dropped, the rest had enough momentum to continue towards him, most hitting his suit and some even going as far as to pierce it.

Batman ignored his instinct to rush to the next villain, pausing instead to look at the scene. Watching his teammates he found them playing keep-up with their opponents instead of the usual pummeling. He watched as Shade baited Diana only to disappear, King keeping Flash busy, Jack pull at Shayara instead of attacking, J'onn stuck out of the battle, Superman forced onto the defensive, Lantern locked onto Sinestro's tail. They weren't trying to accomplish anything that he could see, nothing to steal, capture or kill. They'd just shown up in the middle of street and started blasting until the League had appeared.

That meant the League was their target. Batman's brain whirled faster at the thought. They weren't powerful enough to imprison the entire League meaning that they were after an individual. The brain worked harder, it would have been easier to capture a particular member on an individual mission outside the League. In fact planting a device or even killing would have been easier on an individual scale.

They wanted the League to watch, they wanted to make it a show. Batman's pulse increased, they wanted to kill. You don't make a show out of small schemes. The only question left was the target. But none of the villains were working hard enough, desperately enough, to be attempting murder. They seemed focused on incapacitating only, a distraction.

One quick jaunt on a grapple later and he was watching the scene from higher ground, sweeping it with his eyes, watching, analyzing. The eyes widened behind the cowl as realization hit, mentally cursing for his own mistake.

Launching himself off of the building he spoke into the communicator, cutting off Flash as he asked who needed help, "Everybody leave your partner and get Shayara out of here."

"Bats, what?" the Speedster had time to ask, even while zipping back to the scene.

"Now," Batman almost shouted.

Flash had already made it to the top of a building and was trying to dislodge Jack's grip from Shayara but any punch he threw hardly made an impression on the flexible skin. Diana too had listened to the order, she flew beside her friend using her super strength to physically pull Jack off. Batman landed on building beside Flash, eyes still scanning for the man he knew had to be out there.

"Why are we leaving the bad guys?" Flash spared a microsecond to ask.

Batman pulled out his binoculars, "They're trying to kill Shayara."

His words seemed to set off the very thing he was trying to avoid. Batman finally spotted Deadshot, very much conscious and on ground level with a gun lined up, his finger on the trigger. Batman's brain calculated the trajectory for him automatically, then noting in shock that Wonder Woman was directly in the bullet's path, Shayara behind her, both focused on Jack. Batman didn't need his lip-reading skills to know what Deadshot was saying,

"Two for one,"

Batman didn't think. Throwing a grapple instinctively, he leapt off the building and took the bullet in the shoulder. Feeling it pass all the way threw his body, his only hope was that the solid matter had deflected it enough to miss its original two targets. Sheer determination kept his hand locked tightly onto the line until he could topple onto a nearby school roof.

* * *

><p><strong>Review are lovely. <strong>

**Props if you know why I need Kayla to exist. Some of you have mentioned the Mary Sue aspect, I like to think I've stayed away from that but warn me if you think I'm drifting too close so that I can hit myself upside the head for multiple reasons.**

**Fair warning, I've got some fairly nasty stuff planned for our heroes. I do have to get them to the breaking point after all. **


	12. Scars

Batman used his good arm to shove himself to his feet, shrouding his shoulder in his cape and already checking where the bullet ended up. A quick glance told him that both Wonder Woman and Shayara were still alive, Jack unconscious between them. Most of the other criminals had disappeared although Batman spotted both Queen and Livewire suspended in one of Lantern's green bubbles.

"Deadshot," Batman bit into the microphone, "Tell me someone got him."

Superman floated up onto the roof, the man in question firmly grasped by his collar in the large hands, "Right here. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Batman said dismissively, hoping Superman wouldn't bother to x-ray him.

The rest of the League joined them on the rooftop, "And we aren't chasing the rest of them down because?" Shayara asked.

John looked annoyed, "They disappeared into Shade's cane again. They could be anywhere by now."

"Great," Flash squinted, "now what? We just wait around again for them to cause more random chaos?"

"We get Batman medical attention." J'onn said simply, "He took the bullet to his shoulder."

"I'm fine," came the persistent growl. The League's face quickly flashed from confusion to analytical, as they checked Batman over for injuries.

Flash choked slightly on his own tongue, "Is that why you jumped off the roof? Taking a bullet for the chicks? Wow Bats, that's real gentlemanly of you."

Batman turned with barely a hitch, his cape swirling around him and hiding the blood, "I need to talk to Deadshot." Superman didn't relinquish his hold, "Now." Batman reiterated eloquently.

Superman squinted at Batman and he mentally groaned when he was told, "Not until you get that shoulder looked at, I think the bullet passed through cleanly but you're still going to need stitches. Better safe than sorry."

"Boy Scout," Batman mumbled so only Superman could hear him.

The Man of Steel's grin was irritatingly wide, "I try. Doctor, then interrogation."

"I'll go to the cave." Batman said, knowing it was pointless to argue. He'd just sneak up to the holding room in the Watchtower once he was out of sight.

He felt something jab him in the back of the neck, "Nice try Princess," he commented dryly, "My suit's reinforced against pressure points, unless you intended to push hard enough to kill me."

Wonder Woman crossed her arms and glared back at him, "You're going to the Watchtower infirmary, otherwise I know you'll just sneak off on your own and let that fester for hours."

"I'll be fine."

Wonder Woman slammed him on the head and the Dark Knight dropped unconscious at her feet. Her teammates started at her in wonder and Diana shrugged, "It was the most direct method, he did save my life after all, I'm just returning the favour."

They watched as Diana picked up Batman and carried him in her arms. Lantern finally broke the silence, "If he doesn't kill you for the knockout carrying him like a baby is going to push him over the edge."

Shayara winked at him, "I'm sure our Princess thinks it's worth it if she gets to see that 'great body' up close and personal." Diana was caught somewhere between a glare and a blush.

* * *

><p>Batman awoke unhappy, not that this was an unfamiliar sensation, but he couldn't quite remember why he was particularly unhappy this time. He shifted slightly on what seemed to be a bed and felt a burning pain in his shoulder. That sensation was quickly dampened by another, the soft rub of a sheet on his bare chest. Batman's hand flew to his face as comprehension dawned on him. He was in the Watchtower infirmary for his blasted shoulder wound.<p>

His fingers met nomex instead of skin and the relief was palpable.

"Trust me, it was tempting," a light voice said with a comedic influx, "but J'onn said that you didn't need another reason to kill me." She smelt like peaches and dust. Batman opened his eyes and saw Diana sitting beside his bed, casually sipping an iced mocha.

He allowed his eyes to linger for just a moment, knowing that they were safe behind the cowl and finally saying, "I don't appreciate my teammates harming me."

She rolled her eyes, "Harming hardly, you do more harm to yourself on a weekly basis. I doubt a little bump on the head is going to slow you down if a bullet to the shoulder was hardly a consideration."

He said nothing, Batman just pushed himself off of the bed and scanned the room for the top half of his uniform. Diana pushed him back down, "Oh no you don't," she said, "I've got something to say and you're going to sit there and listen to it. I would remind you that you'll pull your stitches but somehow I feel a better argument would be to point out that I have this," she held his uniform top loosely in her hand, "and you're not likely to go traipsing around Gotham half naked."

He sat back and folded his arm across his chest, ignoring his shoulder and feeling oddly exposed. Even Bruce Wayne always wore full shirts, no-one got to see these scars, "Make it fast," he said coolly, ignoring his internal narration which alternated between the Bat's 'steal the shirt' and the playboy's 'you're shirtless with Wonder Woman, wink wink'.

"I just wanted to thank you for taking that shot," Wonder Woman said, "Shayara and I weren't paying attention to Deadshot at all and we both appreciate the risk you took. Shayara would have been here too," she added quickly, "but I believe she's got a bet with John on how fast you'll kill me and she can't be in the room to interfere."

Batman nodded, "That would potentially affect the test results." He got up to leave again and once again Diana stopped him. "My uniform now." He said testily.

Wonder Woman shook her head, "I wasn't finished." His eyes narrowed but he leaned back against the pillow as she continued, "I was going to ask you if there was anything I could do for you in return. I know you don't like metas in Gotham but with your injury you should really take it slow. I could help you out..."

"Unnecessary." Batman interrupted, "I'm fine."

She smirked slightly, "I assumed you'd say so. Still the offer stands, I know that we save each other's lives frequently but things seem a little more personal once someone jumps off a roof into a bullet for you. I would like to return the favour." She handed Batman his shirt back, "let me know."

"I'll keep it in mind." There was a fat silence in the room as he tried to pull the top on properly but couldn't seem to quite get a full rotation from his shoulder.

"Let me help you with that," she said softly, knowing that he was hardly in a position to refuse. She took his silence as acquiescence. Reaching out slowly Diana began to work the thick fabric down his back, careful not to jar his shoulder. Filling the empty air she said, "I'm surprised you didn't tell me your request was to stay out of Gotham."

Batman didn't reply. Diana internally shrugged and continued with her task, slightly distracted with the mess of scars that lay on the back before her. Some were white, some were red, some straight, some jagged, some round, long, short, all battle scars. She ran her finger over a short, dark semicircle, curious at its strange appearance. He jumped as though she'd burned him, the shirt more or less falling the rest of the way down.

"My apologies," Diana felt guilty, knowing that perhaps she had crossed a boundary, "but I was curious. I'd never seen a scar quite that colour." In truth she'd hardly seen any scars at all, Amazons healed too quickly to accumulate them.

Batman surprised her with an answer, "Ravenous plant, tried to infect my bloodstream."

Diana didn't have a reply to a comment like that. It didn't matter, he was leaving anyways. She moved to return medical supplies to their appropriate shelves, and tripped. She couldn't remember the last time she'd genuinely tripped, the ability to float usually prevented irritating things like falling over.

Batman reached out to steady her and Wonder Woman's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "That's twice in one day you've saved me," she said wryly, "not great for my Amazon pride."

"Pride does go before a fall."

Diana did a double take. He was Batman, everything he did was intentional, which lead to one interesting conclusion, "You just made a joke. A horrible joke, but still…"

He stepped back towards the door and she thought she saw the faintest hint of a smirk, "Keeping you on your toes."

"Of course, always training," Diana said knowingly.

"About Gotham…"

She cut him off, "Fine, fine, I'll leave Gotham alone."

He shook his head slightly, "Princess, I doubt anything could keep you from annoying me for more than a week. As long as you don't interfere with my work, I think I'll save my wish for something more substantial." Batman's cape swished with the shadows as he turned, "Besides, you'll never find me unless I want you to."

Diana could have been offended as she watched his retreating back but she was too delighted to care. Activating her comm link she said, "Batman didn't tell me to stay out of Gotham."

"So?" Flash's voice popped over the line.

Shayara explained, her voice was grinning, "That's tantamount to him giving permission to be there. So Diana, get that date before he changes his mind."

"I'm working on it." She grumbled.

* * *

><p>Alfred was not happy with Bruce. Despite the new shoulder wound, Batman had teleported directly into the cave and immediately began pouring over interrogation footage of a man Alfred recognized as Deadshot. The master was apparently referencing it back to Lex Luthor as Alfred spotted a file dedicated to his presidential campaign hovering on the desktop.<p>

"You really should be resting." Alfred tried for the fifth time.

Batman's fingers flew across the keyboard, "There's no time."

"You'll work yourself to death sir, if you're not careful," Alfred said, having heard this argument before. The answer however was new.

"That's someone's intention." Batman said flatly, "I need to make sure they don't succeed."

Alfred gave up trying to dissuade Bruce and shot a little lower, "Perhaps the League could help you?"

A list of Luthor's funds popped up on the screen, and with a few keystrokes Batman highlighted five, "The League works on a reactive basis, I'm the only proactive one."

Alfred couldn't argue. Master Bruce was right, the League saw something and they hit it. There wasn't a lot of preparation or detective work involved in that. "Perhaps Masters Richard or Timothy sir? Or Miss Barbara could be of assistance."

"They have their hands full with Gotham." Batman appeared to be tracking the funds across multiple servers, websites and countries, "Between the big-names being in prison, my shoulder and Shayara's attempted murder, I will have to take a night off from patrol."

Alfred looked too pleased so Bruce had to add, "Just one night Alfred, no more."

"I'll take my victories as they come sir."

The proximity alarm went off and all external camera feed came up onto the screen; Wonder Woman was casually strolling down the drive.

The cowled eyes narrowed, "Alfred, perhaps you should go upstairs."

The butler was already on his way, "And perhaps sir, you should change attire? And might I suggest a blazer sir, you're going to need something to hide the wound."

* * *

><p>"What-ya-doing?" Kayla Wayne leaned casually across the back of a computer chair, trying to see what Tim was doing on his laptop, "Secret stuff?"<p>

Tim grinned, "Not exactly." He slid out of the way to show an online auction site, an ornate dagger visible on the screen.

Kayla took one look and groaned, "because there just aren't enough weapons stockpiled around here."

"I'm not bidding on it, just admiring." Time said sadly, "I mean look at that price."

Kayla did so and whistled softly, "That's one expensive piece of metal. So like, what's so special about this one that it merits that kind of dough?"

"Technically nothing," Tim said with a slight blush, "nothing quantifiable at least. But," he added, trying to redeem himself, "apparently this particular dagger has special, mystic qualities."

One brown eyebrow shot up, "Uh detective boy, I hate to break it to you but I doubt that's legit. It's just to get sales. Heck, I bet you could find a magical toaster on here if you really wanted to."

Tim flashed her a look, "Please, I checked it out first. You can trace this dagger back to the correct time period and geographic area. I already know that it did come from a covert group of shaman-like individuals who were believed to have mystical powers. This is one of their daggers." He said confidently. "The only thing I can't be sure of is if their daggers were truly blessed or if that was an exaggeration."

"I'll bite," she replied, "what's this thing supposed to do then? Fly? Glow? Become undefeatable?"

"No-one knows," Tim admitted, "that detail was lost to time. Although the legends say that they automatically activate once the dagger has claimed 100 lives and any life it does take is automatically notched onto the handle."

"How many does this one have?"

"I can't see the whole handle because there's only one picture," Tim pointed out, "but I'd guess there's about 95 notches on there."

Alfred flew past them, "Master Tim, Miss Kayla, you may wish to make yourselves scarce."

"Why?" Tim stood up immediately, experience telling him that Alfred never rushed. Alfred could move quickly but there was always a certain air of efficiency and nobility, this felt different.

"Wonder Woman is almost here." Alfred cast a discerning eye over the manor, ensuring that everything was in its proper place.

"I'm out of here." Tim said, vaulting up the stairs. Bruce crashed after him, coming out of the study at full speed.

"Hi! Nice to see you too!" Kayla called after him, then, "wear the blue shirt, it makes your eyes look better." She rolled her eyes at the world in general, "you people need to just take a chill pill and calm down."

"I'll leave that to your discretion Miss," Alfred said, "I assume you will not be moving upstairs?"

"Not unless you tell me I have to," Kayla shrugged but there was a very familiar smirk on her face, "I'd rather not miss this. Why is she here?"

"Unfortunately we are in the dark on that particular subject."

"Ah Brucie will be fine then, he practically lives in the dark."

The doorbell rang and despite the pleasant chime, it sounded menacing to all of the manor's occupants.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry updates are going to be slower for a bit as life becomes a wee bit more hectic.<strong>

**Also Happy St. Patrick's Day**


	13. Waller

This building was never empty, never silent, never still. People hurried up and down industrial hallways ever busy, every chaotic, ever moving. With one exception. The hub of the building, of the whole operation, was calm, calm and in control.

The office was large, well-managed but not ostentatious, the picture of efficiency. You came into this office and you knew that things got done and that they got done one way, her way. And that's exactly the way she liked it. Very few people opposed her anymore, she had too much power, too much experience and quite frankly, she was too scary.

Very few people stood up to her, once again that was the way she liked it. But there were a few, a select few, that she considered equals. People whom she technically never associated with, people whom she didn't trust, but they were equals. They were smart enough, daring enough, driven enough, just as untrusting. There was trust in untrust, she could always trust that these people didn't trust her, they could trust that she didn't trust them. It was an odd relationship, but it worked.

The worst, or best, of the lot stood before her, observing her as she sat at her desk. She never knew how he got in here, but she never asked. Truth be told, he was her favourite, the best at the game.

"Waller." The deep voice rang out across the room, a small movement flashing the bat across his chest.

"Batman." She responded, "it's been awhile since I've seen you in person." She knew he got the underline, she'd been watching.

The cape slipped back, no longer shielding the uniform beneath it, "Likewise."

"So right to business then," Waller said, capping her pen, "I'm busy," observing the man in front of her she added, "I'm sure that you are too, fatherhood is always daunting." There was a subtle challenge there.

He answered it, "You would know, raising a brood of super-powered kids."

"You know why it's necessary, if the League ever went the way of the Justice Lords…" She allowed the sentence to hang in the air, condemning him.

"And the Ultimen are your answer? They have a two month life span." He sounded amused but Waller wasn't fooled. She knew he took the threat of his own team as seriously as she did.

"Here to tell me to shut it down?" Amanda Waller asked.

"I don't need to; you already know that it needs to be shut down." He deadpanned, "but Luthor's got you in a bind."

"It's blowing resources," she admitted without remorse or apology, "I want to concentrate our efforts on proven methods."

"Galata."

She raised an eyebrow, "It's getting harder and harder to keep secret plans for Kryptonian clones secret."

Batman folded himself into one of the room's straight back chairs, "You were sloppy, the Superboy files referenced an attempt at Supergirl." Despite being in her own office, Waller felt like a child in the principal's office.

"I'll keep that in mind." She looked him square on, knowing he dislike being pinned down, "I doubt you're here to discuss my failing clone project."

"Luthor." The word was clipped.

Her words equaled his, "The election, I know we're looking into it."

"Not hard enough," a rougher gravel had entered his tone.

She shuffled papers on her desk, "You don't want him in then you deal with. As you've pointed out, I've got my own problems."

"Your entire existence is based on a fear of the Justice Lords. A fear that becomes reality with the assassination of President Lex Luthor, avoid his election, avoid the Justice Lords." Batman wasn't usually so straight with his explanations.

Waller leaned back in her chair, "The League has denied the possibility that they could ever become the Justice Lords, are you confirming its there?"

"Don't play stupid," Batman growled, "it doesn't suit you. You know just as well as I do that the potential is always there. Always has been there. Always will be there."

"And you'd have me do what?" Waller queried, "work against my biggest financial backer. Cadmus doesn't even exist, technically there's nothing I can do for you."

"That doesn't mean you won't. You know Luthor."

She was tempted to roll her eyes, "Of course I know Luthor, and yet there's no way I could ever know Luthor. It's the same with you. The same with me." His lack of response was a response, she continued, "The three of us are going to play this game forever, until one of us finally dies and then the two remaining are going to fight above the ashes. Always chasing each other around corners, staying in the background, shoving plans into the light but never taking the fall. We're geniuses. We're sneaky. We're alone. And it's by choice."

She stood up and he copied her, "Do you know what they're calling you now? Not the public, but people like me, those who know that you actually exist. A trinity. A League within a League, Superman, Wonder Woman and You. That you complete each other." She ran a well-trained, hardened eye over him.

"Hardly, I'm not a team player."

"But you are part of a trinity." Waller fired back, "Luthor, You and Me. The kind of people who could run the world if we wanted to, because only we have the guts, the foresight to make the real decisions, the tough calls. We tell our guns where to fire and off they go. It doesn't matter if we're the good guy or the bad guy because we all believe that we're doing the right thing for the world. That we're beyond saving, beyond the rules and the lines."

"There are lines I won't cross." He said firmly.

She granted him a nod, "Perhaps, for now."

"You will think about Luthor, and shut the Ultimen down." Batman returned the subject to its course, leaving an implied threat hanging in the air, "Mine are bigger than yours."

She waved a hand at him, "Of course I'll think about Luthor but you are in no position to make threats, _playboy._"

The eyes narrowed, "Really? Found a new weapon."

"Hardly," she almost smirked at him, "you made yourself vulnerable. You've surrounded yourself for years with strong, capable people. Associates to strong, too difficult or too much work to capture, no-one I could hold over your head. But now," then she did smile, "now you've got a daughter to look after, one with no fight skills to speak of. Sooner or later she'll be on her own and if I needed to, I could pick her up."

"You will not threaten her." The body language was calm, the voice was calm but Waller knew that the man inside was not.

"I won't expose her," Waller promised, "not to Luthor or anyone else. But you can't give me a target like that and expect me to just leave it alone." Threat accomplished she turned her face to the window, knowing he'd be gone when she turned back. He was. She smirked again, then said to the open air, "Oh, and I'm surprised that you're not here to see about a little family reunion."


	14. Chaperone

"Let me get this straight," John said angrily, "Someone wants to kill Shayara and we're still concerned about Batman's identity? This is messed up."

They were all in Clark's apartment, having finally realized that Batman could hear anything that they said while on the Watchtower. J'onn, on monitor duty, had managed to rig up a system that allowed his face to show on the nearby TV. With all the known League members in civilian clothes for the first time, the meeting had a different vibe, more of friends and less of colleagues.

Clark shrugged from beneath his oversized shirt and pushed his glasses back up his nose, "What would you have us do John? Run around the world chasing non-existent leads? J'onn is running an analysis right now that won't be finished for another half hour, Batman said he'd look into it and the only specific instruction he gave us was to make sure that Shayara didn't go anywhere alone."

The woman in question folded her arms angrily, "Which is ridiculous, now that I know there's a threat I can take care of myself."

"We really don't need to risk it," John shot right back, his anger temporarily flaring his ring and causing the suit to appear momentarily.

Clark eyed them, "Let's not get too loud, I don't need my neighbours hearing anything suspicious."

Wally zoomed into the room his arms full of food, "Got any mustard? You can't have pickles without mustard!"

"I'm out."

"Oh," the youthful face fell, and then rose, "I know!" There was a dash of wind and he was back, "I went home to get some!" The only noise in the room was Wally noisily trying to stuff a sandwich into his mouth that was bigger than his head. "So," he finally said around a mouthful of baloney, "Anybody got anything interesting? Cause I can tell you every kid in all the arcades I went to has heard of Batman but no-one's ever seen the guy. He's either a joke or the bogeyman."

"You went to arcades?" John asked in disbelief, his anger momentarily forgotten, "To ask about Batman of all people? Did you think he'd hang out with teenagers for fun?"

Flash looked offended, "I was trying to find the sidekick, I didn't think he'd kill me." He finished with a mumble at the end.

Clark's face apologized for John, "It's the same story among the press. They're not willing to risk their careers asking questions about an urban legend. Apparently and I quote," he slipped into reporter mode, "'we just kind of accept Batman around here, don't ask too many questions, people would think we're crazy. Go back to Metropolis and look into Superman if you're dead set on these heroes.'" Clark smiled, "I thanked him for the excellent advice."

"And he's impossible to track," Shayara sighed, "unless you're willing to let me pull a satellite out of orbit to follow him?" She asked J'onn hopefully.

The Martian frowned, "As John pointed out your attempted murder takes precedence over the identity of a comrade. In all truthfulness I am still uncertain that this is the right path to take."

"Ah come on," Flash said, spraying food, "He's got to know what we're doing and he hasn't explicitly told us to stop, that's like getting a Bat-invitation!" Wally moved onto a large batch of double chocolate chip cookies, "Right Diana?"

Wonder Woman was staring off into space.

"Di? Di? Di? Di?" Flash said waving his hand in front of her face at superspeed, "anyone home?" There was no response.

Clark sighed, "I know what'll snap her out of it…" Taking a deep breath and subtly sliding away from the Amazon, Clark began, "So I just read the Odyssey the other day and I have to say that Homer's portrayal of Penelope was absolutely perfec-"

Diana joined the conversation, loudly, "Homer? The Odyssey? That book is nothing but a bunch of lies spun by a man to make women look like submissive servants. I hope that man is burning in Tartarus for his untruthful words of -"

"Diana!" Shayara said sharply but with a smirk, "don't worry, _Clark_ here wasn't actually insulting you, we were just trying to draw you back from where-ever you went."

"Cookie?" Flash asked noting that Diana's brow was still furrowed slightly, "The Man of Steel is an iron chef."

She took one with a deep breath, "I got the date with Walters."

"Perfect," Shayara grinned, "how did you manage that?"

Diana winced slightly, "You're not going to like it…."

* * *

><p>Two days previous<p>

Wonder Woman landed softly at the end of Wayne manor's long driveway. Taking her time to admire the landscape around her Diana strolled casually down the path, blissfully unaware of the chaos she had started inside the stately home. Eventually making her way up to the door, she stood and stared at it for a moment, trying to calm her surprisingly nervous stomach. Then again Wonder Woman had never had to ask for help getting a date before, with very few exceptions men fell over themselves to ask her anywhere – out to dinner, to lunch, for coffee, for a walk, to go around corner, once a young man had asked if he could just stand beside her for thirty seconds.

Diana reminded herself that it was 'for the team' and reluctantly pressed the doorbell.

A stately, older gentleman answered with a kind smile on his face, "Good afternoon your highness, please do come in."

She was hesitant, perching on the threshold, "I don't want to intrude. I realize that I should have called first but I was hoping to speak to Bruce."

The man smiled again, "There is no intrusion at all, I'm sure that Master Bruce would be quite happy to speak with you. However he does tend to sleep late, would you mind stepping inside while I fetch him for you?" Diana had to oblige at his look and stepped slowly into the manor. The butler ushered her into the foyer saying, "If you will just excuse me a moment your majesty?" Diana nodded. "Miss Kayla," he called, "if you would be so kind as to keep our guest occupied?"

"Not a probs Alfred," a voice Diana recognized said cheerfully. Kayla Wayne's head popped up over the back of a couch, "Wonder Woman, hey, come on over, have a seat!"

Diana allowed herself to smile when she made her way to the other side of the couch. Kayla Wayne, the new 'fashion palate' of Gotham was slouched on a couch in a pair of lime green trackpants, bright blue, fuzzy slippers and a glittery Batman t-shirt with a bag of chips resting on her stomach.

"I love your t-shirt," Diana said with a smirk, wondering what the real Batman would say if he ever saw his beloved bat symbol cover with that much glitter.

Kayla shrugged with a smile, "Got to support the home team y'know. If I'd known you were coming I'd have like busted out the Wonder Woman one."

"I appreciate the sentiment." Diana said.

There was a small silence before Kayla asked, "So what are you doing in our neck of the woods anyways? I can believe that it's because you had such a good time at that party. Although I suppose that catching bad guys might be your idea of a party." Kayla crunched a chip and continued before Diana could actually answer her question, "You're not here because you're crushing on my dad are you?"

Before Diana could answer a voice called from the doorway, "Of course that's why she's here sweetheart, every woman is secretly crushing on Bruce Wayne." He strolled into the room, a cocky smile on his face and turned to Diana, "I'll save you the trouble of asking, you, me, dinner tonight, where-ever you want." He winked at her but not in a predatory way, it was the kind of wink that made you feel like everything said was a complete and total joke.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass Bruce," Diana smiled, "but thank-you."

Kayla sighed dramatically, "You should have worn the blue shirt Dad, you look spiffy in blue."

Bruce turned slightly when he caught sight of her outfit, "New shirt?"

"mmmhmmm," she agreed, "I've got one for every League member, ordered them online. You like it?"

"Not particularly," he said with a small, subtle glare, "of course," he continued more cheerfully, "I'm only happy when you're wearing turtlenecks or parkas. Now go bother your brother or something and leave us grown-ups to our business."

"The day you're grown up, the world ends," She said but never-the-less swung her legs off the couch and made her way out of the area.

"So Princess," Bruce asked as he sank into the recently vacated couch, "how can I help you? Unfortunately I doubt this is a social call."

Diana tilted her head and handed him a piece of paper, "That depends on how you want to look at it."

Bruce took the piece of paper, read it and laughed, "Ah the infamous 'I O U' of '05, did Lois tell you why I gave her this."

Diana smiled, "Something about you purchasing the Gotham zoo and accidently setting the animals loose when she was at a conference winning her first big journalist award at said zoo."

He grinned, "I hate to tell you Princess but 'I owe yous' aren't exactly transferable. You'll have to think of a better way to convince me to give you what you want." There was a slight leer accompanying the words.

Diana shook her head, "Lois said you might say that." She held out a small voice recorder and hit play, a female voice rang out, "Bruce, for my I O U, I want you give Diana whatever she wants. Also I want an interview… and a raise."

Bruce folded his arms and pretended to look cross, "Well played Princess, and what is your request?"

She copied his pose, "I need a date."

He raised an eyebrow, "I believe that was offered minutes ago."

Her eyes twinkled, "Sorry, but not with you."

"You're breaking my heart here Princess," he said clasping his hands to his chest, "are you asking me to set the most beautiful woman on the planet up with another man?"

The twinkling persisted, "Demanding, not asking."

Bruce flashed her a mournful look, "and who has captured your heart Princess?"

"Nothing like that," she chuckled, "it's strictly League business but it needs to seem like it's not. Hence a date."

"Ah," now he looked excited, "the old bait and switch, James Bond, secret spy deal. I was going to ask how you managed to get this off of the intrepid reporter but now I can assume that Superman is quite persuasive. So," he rubbed his hands together like a kid at Christmas, "who are we after here?"

"Steven Walters."

Bruce groaned slightly, "You couldn't have picked an easier target Princess?"

"You can't do it?" Diana asked quickly.

"Of course I can," he guffawed, "The Princess asks and I'll deliver, it'll just be a little trickier. Actually Steven is an old friend but it's devilishly hard to get him to do anything social." A checkmark went off in Diana's head, Bruce continued, "The only way to get him to come to my last party was to promise to discuss a business deal…."

Bruce's eyes lit up and he turned to Diana, "You want this date?"

"Yes"

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes"

He plucked the latest phone from his pocket and dialed. "Steven my-man! It's Bruce, how is it going? Me? Please, you know me, give me a party and something to drink and I'm golden. Actually I'm calling because we never got to discuss business at the party. You still want to? Excellent. Am I free tomorrow? Let me check."

Bruce didn't move, he just winked at Diana again. "Oh sorry Steve, I'm totally packed. But I've got some time on Wednesday, around lunch. You free? Perfect. How would you feel if I told you that instead of a business meeting with me tomorrow you could go to lunch with Wonder Woman? You think that would be irresponsible of me to cancel. Hmmmm well I suppose maybe. Pardon? Oh, why don't I just take the date with Wonder Woman?" Bruce widened his eyes at Diana, looking for an answer, she didn't have an answer so he improvised.

"Because I've got a date with her friend. You know, the Hawk-one? With the wings, yeah those are hot." Diana's eyes were bugging out of her head, "Anyways she won't go out with me unless it's a double date so I've got to find someone to go who won't be all fan-boy and Steve, you're the least fan-boy I know. So will you do it? For an old friend? If I promise we can talk business after? If I lend you _the car_. You'll do it? Excellent! Two days, lunch, Gotham tower! Thanks Steve, you're the best."

Bruce snapped the phone shut and grinned at Diana, "I thought you could use a chaperone."

* * *

><p>Back in Clark's Apartment<p>

"I've got to go on date with Bruce Wayne tomorrow?" Shayara screeched.

J'onn and Superman looked unsure. Flash was laughing. John looked murderous.

Diana was trying to look apologetic and failing.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm going to assume that more than 50 people read the last chapter and the stats were broken. But if you haven't I would, there's some fairly subtle yet important stuff there.<strong>

**I believe never to put a 'gun in the room' if you're not going to fire it.**

**Review…**


	15. Date With A Bat?

"Wake Up." The voice forced its way into her nightmares and when Kayla Wayne opened her eyes she was actually relieved to see a sight that left most trembling in fear; Batman was standing over her.

She rolled back over, trying to quench down the lingering terror of the dreams, "No thank-you."

The Bat growled, "I wasn't giving you an option." He grabbed her arm and forcefully ejected her across the bed and to her closet. "Change."

Kayla yawned and stretched her neck, "Into what, oh supreme overlord?"

"Trackpants." He stalked out of the room.

Three minutes later she joined him and the second she was out the door the Batman experienced what it was like to be on the receiving end of a batglare. "It is 3:30 in the morning," she shot at him, eyes narrowed, "this had better be ridiculously important. Why couldn't you just get the small bird boy to help you?"

He grabbed her arm again and dragged her towards the cave, "Because I don't need help."

"I bet I can find a thousand people who disagree," she mumbled, he ignored her. When they hit the Batcave staircase Kayla inhaled deeply, "You know what's depressing," she said at last, "you've started to smell like this cave. Do you know what that means? It means that you constantly smell slightly of _bat poop_…" He continued to ignore her. "Alright, just trying to help out. Sooner or later even cologne won't be able to cover that smell up."

They stopped at last in the empty training circle of the cave and Batman finally spoke up, "I saw Waller tonight."

Kayla's eyes lit up, "Really? Did you find her? Did she tell you anything? Please tell me that it's good news. Tell me that it's done and over with and I can pick up the pieces and move on."

"I didn't go there to talk about you." Batman said harshly, "I went to talk about Luthor."

Kayla's shoulder slumped, her eyes accusing him of countless things, "Then I really don't care about anything you said or did tonight." Her voice was one of betrayal as she turned back towards the stairwell.

"You know why I had to put that case on hold," Batman's voice was Bruce's now, softer, "I haven't given up on it."

"What, do you want?" Her voice was old and tired.

Batman's voice returned to the cave, "Waller claims you can't fight."

"Well Waller doesn't know everything, she's no god." The voice was bitter, "you want me to prove it to you don't you? Prove that I'm not a liability to your cause." It was hardly a question. "You know that I hate it, I told you that I hate it. I hate how much I like it. We decided that it was best if I stay away from this side of life and you just want me to slip back into it?"

"Only for a moment."

"You can't just trust me?" It was a loaded question, she already knew the answer but she wanted to make him say it.

"No, I can't."

She nodded once, "I won't fight you. I can't. Run the simulation, that's the best I can offer."

The sun was rising when she finished, sweated covered, muscles aching but the simulations were completed. Batman was satisfied; she was not a liability, at least not in the way Waller was describing. As Batman watched her stretch out he felt conflicting emotions, pride at her success and fear at the way her eyes had come alive.

He turned back to run an analysis through the computer as her voice carried across the cave, "I'm going to take a shower…. And then read…. And stay away from here for a while…" There was a barely perceptible quip in her voice but Batman caught it and his heart broke a tiny bit more.

"Kayla, I…" He didn't really know what he was.

Her voice called back, "it's okay Dad, I wouldn't trust me either." A pause and then her voice went up an octave, "Have fun on your date, and like try to keep Shayara from killing you."

* * *

><p>"I cannot believe I'm doing this." Shayara hissed to Diana as they appeared in front of Gotham Tower.<p>

Diana was trying not to enjoy her friend's misery, "You're the one who wanted the date."

"I wanted you to get the date, I didn't want to be directly involved." Shayara corrected.

Diana shrugged, "This was the best I could do." She paused at the look on the warrior's face, "I promise it won't be that bad. Bruce is an idiot and a flirt but he's harmless. He's like a puppy, slobbers more than you'd like but at the end of day is still adorable. I made him promise to be a perfect gentleman besides this gives you a chance to meet Steven too."

Shayara rubbed her fingers, already missing her mace, "Well Batman better be at this date or I'm going to have to slug something."

"Whoa now ladies," Flash's voice sounded in their ears, "let's chillax now."

"Wally," Shayara said, having quickly gotten use to his real name, "you boys are allowed to watch only, no audio unless it's an emergency." There was a screech in the background as someone pulled the microphone away from Flash.

Diana nudged her side, "here we go, be polite, no hitting anything."

"Same to you," Shayara returned.

"Excuse me, do you have a reservation?" The host's voice was snobby and the two women had a feeling that this was the sort of place where the fact that they were Justice League wouldn't matter, only money spoke here.

"We're here to see Bruce Wayne and Steven Walters," Diana said confidently.

A smile blossomed across the host's face, "Of course ladies, they're already seated, right this way please. Watch your step." The attitude change was obvious.

The man lead them to an elevator and as they rode several floors up the air itself began to feel more and more expensive. Finally they came to the top floor and the doors swished open with a pleasant ping to reveal a posh VIP lounge complete with floor to ceiling windows that allowed its occupants a view of Gotham as seen by few.

"Right this w-" The host was cut off as a man stood up and called over the crowd,

"Princess, Shayara, right this way!" Bruce Wayne waved them over, seated across from him with a slight frown on his face was Steven Walters.

The host looked slightly taken aback, Shayara smirked, "I think we can find our way from here." The two women made their way over to the table, Shayara being careful to keep her wings pulled in tight.

The two men stood promptly, "Princess, a pleasure to see you again," Bruce said kissing her knuckles. He then turned to Shayara who stopped him with a firm handshake. Bruce had the good grace to look sheepish, "I do apologize for our last encounter and I've sworn off alcohol for the entire morning just to ensure a pleasant date." His grin returned, "Can I merit forgiveness?"

Shayara wasn't convinced, "We'll see."

He nodded slightly and pulled out her seat for her. She moved towards it and gasped slightly. She usually hated sitting for long periods of time on earth, the chairs were not made with Thanagarians in mind and her wings were constantly getting cramped. This chair however resembled something she would have seen at home, with slits cut into the chair back to accommodate her wings.

The playboy grin erupted once again, but it was tempered by something a little more sincere, "I figured that empty words wouldn't be enough so I had this commissioned. You can take it home with you when we're done here if you like."

Shayara slipped into the chair, it fit her wings perfectly. Wayne slipped into the chair beside her and she finally gave him a smile. It was more of a challenge than anything else but it was still a smile, "Alright playboy," she said, "I appreciate the effort, you've officially earned yourself a second chance. Don't waste it."

He smirked and leaned in close, Shayara almost smacked him again but he whispered, "So do you want to tell me why the Justice League desperately needed this date?"

She shoved him back with a smirk, "Not a chance pretty boy, try using the few brain cells you must have and figure it out."

He lifted his glass and toasted her, "Challenge accepted."

Lunch was an interesting affair. Both Diana and Shayara were actually surprised to discover that they were having a decent time, Bruce Wayne had somehow done the impossible and dragged 'Batman' out of his shell. The man was still reserved but Diana and Shayara were learning more than they ever thought possible about the man behind the mask. Bruce regaled them with stories of his golf prowess and Steven had to interject and comment on Wayne's awful aim. Which turned into discussing Steven's excellent aim, which turned into a discussion of sports in general. Batman/Walters apparently liked kickboxing, Diana claimed tennis as her favourite, Shayara fought for rugby while Bruce debated the merits of basketball.

There were other interesting pieces, Walters had both a chemistry and an economics degrees while somehow Bruce had managed to scrounge out a business degree, actually claiming that he'd paid someone to impersonate him and write the final exam on his behalf. Steven disliked tomatoes as he specified to the waiter that they were not to even touch any of his food. Bruce had a coffee addiction, he'd gone through three before their meals even arrived. Eventually as they laughed over desert Diana caught herself watching Bruce's face more and more, continually trying to catch that perfect moment where his eyes would twinkle and the whole world seemed like a joke.

Then she caught herself, her brain forcibly reminding her that she was on a date with Walters and that Bruce, although a potential friend, was a womanizer and she could never condone that. She tuned back into the conversation.

"I use to play football in college you know," Bruce was bragging.

Shayara laughed, "Am I supposed to be impressed? First off football is for pansies, anyone worth my time plays rugby. Second of all, fifty percent of this table deals with super villains on a regular basis. You're going to have to up the macho-factor pretty boy if you want a better nickname."

Bruce looked wounded, "Does it have to be pretty boy?" he moaned, "I can't even get handsome? Guys aren't supposed to be pretty. Diana, Steve, back me up here."

"You'll survive," Diana assured him.

"Steve," Bruce wheedled, "Back me up here. You're much more macho than I am, they'll believe you if you say that guys can be macho."

The man in question raised an eyebrow, "You aren't macho Wayne, you hide under tables and fall asleep while getting a pedicure."

The women snickered slightly. "You're just jealous," Bruce countered, "you wish that you could take time off from all of your extreme stunts to relax and get pampered."

Shayara appraised him, "You know," she decided, "I think that even football's too tough for you."

Diana however, wasn't ready to let Wayne's comment pass by. Tuning out the hand-waving, loud speaking duo she turned to Steven and asked, "So what kind of extreme sports do you do?"

The millionaire shrugged lazily, "Whatever catches my interest. Sometimes I rock climb, cliff jumping, zip lining, BASE jumping, parasailing, wrestling, street fighting, anything really."

Diana forced her eyes to widen, "And you never get hurt?"

"Not usually," he said with a dash of superiority, "I try to plan ahead to avoid the pitfalls that undertake the less prepared. If you're going to climb a mountain one should first learn how to climb."

"Makes sense," Diana said, then trying to make it seem casual asked, "So what did you do to your shoulder?" She'd noticed it early on in the 'date', he was subtly shielding one side of his body, as though it was injured and throughout the meal as she'd watched she'd become convinced that it was Batman's bullet wound.

"This?" He looked surprised and briefly revealed a sterile, white bandage exactly like the ones on the Watchtower. "You have an excellent eye Diana. I got this a few days ago, fencing with Bruce if you can believe it. He just showed up out of the blue at my office with fencing gear and asked me to join him. I should have said no" the man winced slightly, "Bruce is one of my oldest friends so I feel an obligation to say yes. It's only later that I remember that he's horrible at everything and chances are that he's going to hurt me."

Diana nodded absently, even she didn't believe his story. She found it difficult to swallow that Bruce Wayne would have enough of an interest in fencing to attempt it. She was only dragged back from her mental assessment of Walter's jawline versus Batman's when Bruce and Shayara started yelling at each other.

"WHAT do you mean the Metropolis Kings are the better football team?" Bruce shouted.

Shayara gave it right back, "Oh, come on Bruce, they've won every game straight. Only a blind and crazy loyalist could ever believe that the Knights have a chance next week."

Bruce threw his hands in the air, "They're the underdog, that's their strategy. Of course they're going to win, there is absolutely nothing in Metropolis that beats anything in Gotham. The Kings quarterback is ancient, off of his game, it's time for him to retire."

Shayara gasped, "Take that back pretty boy, McMaccin is the best thing that EVER happened to American football."

An alert went off in Diana's ear, "Diana, Shayara," John's voice came across the line, "sorry to interrupt your date." Despite the apparent urgency he still managed to sound angry when he said the word, "but another team of villains just showed up in Metropolis. We need to move out now."

"Understood," Diana said, "Gentlemen, it's been a real pleasure but unfortunately duty calls." She grabbed Shayara's arm, "You can debate football later, we need to move."

The redhead narrowed her eyes but nodded, "Don't you dare leave pretty boy, we'll finish this later."

"I wouldn't miss it." Wayne's smile was easy.

Walter had already stood up, "Good luck ladies."

Shayara and Diana flew out of the window, "Someone had better bring my mace."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks to all who bothered to review, they're <strong>**always**** appreciated. **

**I got asked by a couple of readers that I know who 'The Six' will actually be, they had some interesting ideas so I thought I'd open up the question to everyone.**

**Reviews….**


	16. A New Table

**There was a request for longer updates, I'd been thinking about it anyways as I'm afraid that I'll end up with a million chapters. So this one is about double in length than usual, a beautiful 4000 words.**

* * *

><p>Batman was late. By that of course it meant that he didn't beat everybody there, the rest of the League had already been fighting for five minutes before the BatJet swooped in overhead and dropped some kind of freeze spray on Giganta, incapacitating her long enough for Diana to get knock the giant unconscious.<p>

The assortment of criminals was just as odd as the last time. Shade and Sinestro were repeats but joining them this time were Giganta, Star Sapphire, Tala, Grundy, Copperhead and Killer Frost. Watching the scene from overhead Batman was quick to bark out orders, "Why is no-one shadowing Shayara?" The voice rumbled, "Diana that was your _only_ job."

Her reply was breathless from felling the giantess, "Giganta was heading down the street and - "

He cut her off, "Stay with Shayara."

"I can take care of myself!" came the inevitable protest.

Batman didn't care, "now."

He watched as they obeyed then switched his attention back to determining the plan of action that these particular heroes could be involved in. Contrary to the last time the League had met a seemingly random group of villains, these opponents were bunched together, fighting together to the point where in many places it was two on one Leaguer. Unfortunately with J'onn and Superman dealing with capping a nuclear reactor in Asia the League was fighting shorthanded.

Batman's mental calculation was interrupted as a pink streak of light was shot at his beloved jet. He pulled into a tight barrel roll to avoid it, knowing that Star Sapphire's powers were similar to Lanterns and that any projectile would have little effect, Batman felt limited remorse as he employed the only viable tactic available, he rammed her with his jet. She fell to the ground immediately slowing, as he knew she would, due to the emergency protocols in the ring and landed softly on the ground.

Batman righted the plane deftly and turned his sights to Sinestro's exposed back, once again completely focused on killing Green Lantern. Batman allowed himself to shake his head at the Yellow Lantern's obsession feeling that it was unhealthy. Preparing to deliver the same tactics to the second Lantern that he had to Star Sapphire, Batman just managed to catch Tala delivering a spell in his direction. He shot the BatJet straight down watching as the bolt of magic fired slightly above him, just missing the rear tailfin.

He was forced to level out the plane or crash and the second his plane was once again steady a second bolt of magic was fired his way, one that he had no way to avoid. Bracing for impact he found, to his eternal irritation, that the entire BatJet was now made of flower petals instead of metal and was floating away around him.

While most people would scream in terror if they suddenly found themselves plummeting towards the ground, Batman's only comment was, "I hate magic."

Just as Batman was about to call for midair back-up something odd happened. He suddenly found himself no longer falling, but bumpily slipping down a trail of ice. His slightly squinted eyes betrayed his momentary confusion as to why Killer Frost appeared to be saving him. This confusion vanished when she attempted to freeze him in a block of ice. The blast caught his lower torso and Batman found himself attached from the waist down to the ice slide.

His suit would keep him from freezing to death but he was a sitting duck for any attack. Surprisingly, none came as even Killer Frost turned away to rejoin the battle. Pulling out a batarang he began the process of chipping himself out of the ice.

The fighting had moved away from him and around the block, leaving Batman trapped alone with civilians on the way. The next five minutes were spent in anger, as Batman took out his every ounce of hidden inferiority complex on the chunk of ice holding him back. He caught a blue and red streak flash overhead and land in the area he assumed was the fight. Two minutes later Wally zoomed over to him,

"Hey Bats, I wondered where you'd ended up! Whoa maaaaan, that's a lot of ice! Let me help you out there!" The speedster vibrated fast enough to create friction and melt the ice in just over thirty seconds.

"What happened," Batman snapped at him.

Flash shook his head, "You're welcome."

"What. Happened."

Flash shrugged, "You can go see. All I know is that they didn't go after Shayara this time." The two men rounded the corner of the block as Wally finished, "They went after GL."

The cowled eyes narrowed once again at the scene in front of him. The ground before him was scorched black, debris floating in the air; it was easy to see where Lantern had taken his stand as his force field had protected the only intact patch of road.

They joined their teammates and Shayara immediately pounced on him, "What the hell happened to you?"

"Jet turned into flower petals, fell, trapped in ice," he said absently but still noting Wally's snicker. He turned to appraise John "what happened?"

The ex-marine shrugged, "I was dealing with Sinestro when Tala, Killer Frost and Shade all came at me. I was too busy staying alive to worry about analyzing." His tone carried a bite.

"And the rest of you? You didn't notice this?" Batman demanded.

Wally's face fell, "Copperhead moves faster than you'd think."

"Grundy," Shayara said bluntly, "I was trying to talk him down."

Diana folded her arms, "I was with Shayara, _as per instructions_, is that a problem?" The look on her face clearly stated that this had better not be a problem.

Batman said nothing, only turning his head towards the big blue boyscout, "And you?"

Superman raised his hands, "hey don't look at me, I just got here and started beating on Sinestro."

"Sinestro." Batman's voice carried an edge, "you chose Sinestro out of that group."

Superman looked affronted, "Of course I did Batman, he's the most powerful and Tala's magic doesn't sit well with me."

"Yes," Batman's voice could have ground beans for coffee, "but Shade was their ticket out of here."

His implication rang clear.

"You're fine?" The question sounded odd coming off of Batman's lips.

Lantern's surprise made him stutter in his answer, "ye, yes. Although my ring is only at half life."

Batman nodded once, "Superman and Lantern: get whoever we still have, Giganta, Sapphire and Grundy, to Belle Reve. Flash and Shayara, you're in charge of clean-up. Diana, get that cut looked after before it gets infected. Meeting tomorrow, early morning, 8am" Diana put a hand to her head and found it come away slightly red.

"I'll be fine, it's just a scratch," she protested, "I'll help with clean-up."

Batman shook his head and gestured once to the air, "Magical residue from Tala, we don't know what it could do to your system."

Flash sheepishly raised his hand, "Um Bats, what are you going to do?"

"Research."

"Want a lift?" Superman asked, "Seeing as your jet is now a sea of roses."

"Carnations," Batman said with a little bitterness, "A million dollar jet and she can't even turn it into expensive flowers." They stared at him. "Command override Batman," a string of numbers followed at a decibel only superhearing could note and Batman disappeared into wherever the teleporter was taking him.

"I didn't know that teleporter could to that!" Flash said excitedly, "I thought it only went to and from the Watchtower!"

John wiped the stunned look off his face and sent to examine Sinestro, "Flash, I would suggest that you suspend every thought you've ever had. Batman just talked about flowers."

"You're sure you're ok?" Shayara asked him and he nodded.

Flash tapped Diana on the shoulder, "Here," he handed her a sanitation cloth, "wipe your head down. Bats is paranoid, I think you've already healed up." She had but it was a relief to stop the blood from crusting on her forehead. Shayara was moving to begin her clean-up duties but Flash zipped in front of her, "What do you think you're doing?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "My job?"

Flash shook his head at superspeed, "You and Di need to get back to Gotham and see where Walters is at!"

Shayara looked at Diana, "He was going to stay late to talk to Bruce about Wayne Enterprises."

Diana's eyes gleamed, "It's only been about 45 minutes, Bruce will be able to tell us if he disappeared."

Shayara looked at the Flash again, "You're sure you've got this?"

"Fastest man alive remember?" He bragged, "I'll have this place cleaned up in a jiffy. Go, go, go! He's got a headstart."

The two women took off for Gotham.

* * *

><p>They re-entered the Gotham tower the same way they'd left it, through a window and attracting stares. Although this time the stares could have been because they were in full costume instead of the clothes they'd started out with. Unsurprisingly their former table was vacant so Shayara literally snagged a passing waiter,<p>

"Any idea where Bruce Wayne or Steven Walters went?" she demanded.

The waiter was trying hard not to stare at her wings, "I believe I just saw Mr. Wayne in the Waterfall Lounge." He said finally, giving them directions.

Confidently they made their way to the lounge to find Bruce Wayne reclined in at a booth and surrounded by seven beautiful women, he was still all smiles when he saw them, "Diana, Shayara, welcome back! I missed you."

They walked over to his table, "I'm sure you did," Diana said with a smirk.

"I assure you I did," the playboy implored, "these lovely ladies were just keeping me company after I was unceremoniously abandoned. If you'll excuse me ladies," He winked at them with a leer. Then he escorted Diana and Shayara across the room, "Actually I used the absence to get you a little gift." Reaching into a thousand dollar suit jacket he pulled out four tickets to the next Gotham Knights versus Metropolis Kings football game. Holding them out to the heroes he said, "Just so that you can be there in person when I'm proven right."

Shayara took them with a grin, "You're on pretty boy."

He plucked two back from her, "Now don't be greedy there Wings." Her eyes narrowed as he grinned at her, "two are for the Princess." He handed them her way, "Take whoever you like, although," he leaned in conspiringly, "I wouldn't suggest Walters, in case you didn't notice he's boring as a bat."

Diana took them graciously, "Where is he by the way?"

Wayne put a hand to his heart, "It's official," he moaned, "I've lost the Princess's heart forever." Diana giggled slightly and Shayara did a double take. Bruce continued, "Actually I have no idea where he is, he disappeared just after you did, said something about urgent business. If you find him, let him know that I really do need to talk to him."

Shayara grinned like a shark that had spotted a bare bottom, "Well I'm sure we'll see him later."

* * *

><p>Batman appeared on the Watchtower the next morning with a large package next to him. He activated his comm link, "Superman, I need you in on the observation deck."<p>

The Man of Steel was there in a flash, "What's the problem?"

"That needs to go in the conference room." Batman gestured to the object beside him.

Superman raised an eyebrow at him, "Are you asking for my help?" he said smiling.

He received a batglare for his early morning energy, "Even I can't lift a couple thousand pounds Kent." Batman strode down the hallway, Superman following, the package carried as though it weighted no more than five pounds.

"So what is this?" Superman asked.

Batman was scanning the information in a handheld computer, "New conference table."

"Didn't Diana break the last one?"

Batman grunted in the affirmative, "She claims it was my fault."

Superman placed the new table in the middle of room but Batman stopped him, indicating that he should turn it. The table was nearly identical to the old one with the exception of three oddly coloured circles seemingly randomly staggered around the table. Superman kept adjusting until Batman turned away, apparently satisfied. Clark turned to ask him a question but the Bat had disappeared again.

He reappeared when the conference room was full, a coffee in hand.

Flash was quick to comment, "Uh Bats, I thought you said that the League charter, rulebook thing said that you couldn't have food or drink in here unless it's an emergency."

Batman didn't even look at him, "Article 5, Section B, subsection IV, line three: Due to his nocturnal activities in addition to his pro-bono League work, the League member Batman is permitted to eat or drink whatever he deems necessary, anywhere at anytime."

"That is not in there!" Flash protested. There was a zoom and shuffle of papers then a, "Oh man, I knew I should have actually read this thing."

Batman took his seat, coffee mug in a death grip, "If we could begin?"

Superman cleared his throat, "Alright folks, we're here this morning to discuss the recent, seemingly random attacks, to see if anyone has any insights and to get a progress report from Batman. In addition I'm willing to hear any comments on the Luthor campaign."

"I see we've got a new table," Flash interrupted, "what's up with the circles? We couldn't get something a little sportier, maybe more symmetrical?"

Superman indulged the speedster, "Batman arranged for the table, I suggest you ask him."

"The circles are made of a special, high resistance alloy. It's not cheap so I only placed it where it was necessary." Batman said meticulously.

Flash waved his hand the air, "Ooooookay, that's great and all Bats, but why are they necessary? I feel all left out, why do only Di, Shay and Supes get these magical circles in front of their chairs?"

Something like a smirk drifted across Batman's face, "Because they're the only ones who break the table." Then a definite smirk appeared, "So the next time the issue of my secret identity offends you Princess do me a favour and pound that circle instead of the rest of table. I can't keep arranging to fix all the things you break."

Diana looked ready to pound the table.

"That was very uh considerate Batman," Superman said at last.

J'onn didn't wait for Batman respond to respond, knowing that he wouldn't, he just stood and began speaking, "In the past week we have encountered two teams of villains, both have shown up, caused chaos and then disappeared."

"And they tried to kill us." Flash put in.

Lantern interjected, "People are always trying to kill us, this is no different."

"Yes it is." Batman growled. J'onn gestured at him to continue, so Batman stood up and clicked on various replays of their two battles.

"They've got a plan." He said at last, "they're organized. Usually the criminals aren't arranged and the total amount of their plan is get the diamond, hit the League if they show up. Killing the League is not their primary goal, it's an escape plan, these characters seem to have no goal but killing the League. That makes them more dangerous. In addition they've pre-chosen a target and they're co-ordinating teams to attack accordingly."

"Seemed pretty random to me," Flash muttered.

He got a batglare for his trouble, "If you're attacking Shayara you don't go for close quarters. She's too well trained." Shayara sat up straighter, praise from Batman was rare, "but," he continued, "her wings create a blind spot. Jack, one of the least intelligent, was holding her in such a way that Deadshot stayed in that blind spot. You want to attack John you can't do it with standard bullets or close quarters, his shield will block everything thrown at him."

John nodded in agreement, curious as to where this was going.

"The only way to defeat a Lantern is to break their concentration or sap their ring dry. They needed a series of heavy hitters to all attack the ring at once, ice, shade, yellow and pink rings, magic, these all would count as heavy shots and together could drain the ring. Everyone else we've seen is just distracting the rest of the League."

Superman nodded, "They're clearly getting smarter, so how do we stop them?"

"We don't." Batman was met with surprised glances.

Lantern spoke up, "You want them to kill us?" his body had protective moved in front of Shayara.

"Of course Batman doesn't," Diana said, "But stopping them in general isn't going to help, you need to take out whichever one of them is organizing the others. I'd guess Sinestro, they went after Shayara and Lantern and even Sinestro knows about that past relationship. He's trying to hit Lantern where it hurts."

Her teammates looked impressed with her except Batman, who's face was still impassive, "Right idea, wrong person Princess." Diana, just as shocked as Shayara had been by the slight praise, blushed slightly as Batman continued, "None of those idiots are smart enough to pull something like this off or influential enough to convince everyone to go along with it."

"Luthor," Superman growled.

Batman shook his head, "I haven't been able to link Lex to this particular scheme, besides his pattern is to attack you specifically. He's still a contender but there are a handful of other people capable of pulling this off."

"So how do we figure out who?" Shayara asked him.

"Motive," Batman played a second shot on screen, the one of Killer Frost 'saving' his life, "we're looking for someone who wants the League dead but apparently gave the order not to kill me."

"Wow, how'd you get so lucky Bats?" Flash asked, the team ignored him.

J'onn had a decent idea, "Someone with a hate for metas?"

"It's a possibility," Batman admitted, "or someone who wants to finish me personally. Either way I need more data before we can proceed."

"So what do we do for now?" Diana asked.

"Stay in pairs of at least two as much as possible." Batman said bluntly.

Superman nodded, "At least when we're in costume, there's no need to be ambushed. And I hate to bring it up again," The man of steel looked embarrassed, "but did you get anything on Luthor's campaign?"

"His next set of ads," Batman said, throwing some papers on the conference table. It was a picture of Diana dancing with Luthor at Wayne's party, the title read, 'Even the Justice League trusts him'.

The room was silent in quiet shock, then both Greek and Kryptonian swear words rang out into the room, "Can we stop it?" Superman asked.

"Not legally," Batman said, getting up to leave, "just be more careful who you associate with Princess." She nodded, not even bothering to defend herself until he added, "I'd stay away from Wayne too, the man is worthless."

Diana looked up at the caped crusader, "keeping an eye on me?"

"On Gotham," came the reply, "which the League seems to be in far too often."

She shrugged, "Bruce is silly and shallow yes, but there is a good man somewhere behind the rich boy."

Batman seemed to tense up, "If you say so." He made to leave when Flash called after him.

"Hey Bats, um, shouldn't you be taking a partner with you?" The room held in chuckles and their breath simultaneously.

Batman didn't even spare him a glance, "I've got a second team. I trust them to watch my back."

* * *

><p>"Come in Oracle," the male voice was a welcome relief to Barbara's ears from the normal growls she received.<p>

"Go ahead Nightwing," she replied, "what's up? I see you're in Gotham for the evening."

"I need to find the big man," Dick replied, the whooshing wind in her earpiece indicating that he was on the move.

"Uhhhhhhh," Oracle checked her screens, "He's doing patrol 4 tonight, so he's currently around Fifth and Concession."

"Roger that O," came the voice, "I appreciate it."

Barbara was quick to catch him before he closed the line, "Fair warning gorgeous, he's in a sour mood. It's been three days since the last League attack and he's wound tighter than usual. So don't go sneaking up on him."

"I wish," Nightwing sighed, "thanks for the heads up. Catch you on the flip side."

* * *

><p>"I know you're there." Batman's voice carried across the warehouse's rooftop as Nightwing emerged from the shadows.<p>

The young man crouched next to his mentor, "Of course you know I'm there. You can't even let me think I've got you?"

"Bad for your ego," came the reply, "I don't recall needing you tonight." The barb was subtle.

"Pshaw, you always need me," Dick shrugged it off, anticipating that the real battle would be in a few moments.

Batman didn't turn his head, just double checked a small computer on his belt, "why are you here?"

Dick shook his head, knowing that this was why he stuck to his own city, "Kayla." Batman didn't react so Dick continued, "I don't trust her

"Trust or like?"

"Honestly?" Dick looked up to the smog covered stars, "neither."

Batman repeated his earlier question, "Why are you here?"

Nightwing's voice turned accusatory, "I took a sample of her DNA and ran it. Do you know who her mother is? Who she is?"

"Of course I do," Batman was blunt.

"And you're okay with this?" only years of training keep Dick's voice to a quiet whisper.

Bruce checked the computer again, "It's not ideal."

"I'll say," Dick's accompanying laugh was hollow, "does she know?"

"No." Batman's voice had no remorse.

Dick's voice found the edge again, "She deserves to know."

"It's too dangerous for everybody," Batman insisted.

"It's already dangerous, this whole situation reeks of a set-up. I can't believe you took her in the first place." Nightwing leaned back on his heels.

Bruce finally looked Dick in the eyes, "She was alone, scared, in danger, and trying to live a normal life. She's my daughter, what would you have me do?"

Nightwing sighed, "Nothing but what you did." Batman turned back to the streets with a quick glance at the computer screen, "still this complicates things." He paused, "Is she really as stupid as she comes off?"

Batman didn't answer.

"Fine, fine, don't answer," Dick said, "but don't expect me to go around feeling sorry for her. This thing is going to blow up in our faces."

"Perhaps."

"You could just tell her," Dick tried again.

"No." the voice was firm.

"But…"

"No"

Dick rolled his eyes, "So who actually knows?"

"You, me, Barbara," Batman paused, "she reran my initial tests."

Dick raised his eyebrows, "not Alfred?" Dick was genuinely surprised, Alfred knew everything.

"Not if I can help it, but knowing Alfred…" Batman let his voice trail off and Dick understood, Alfred always found a way.

Dick took a risk, "you just don't want Alfred telling you that she deserves to know."

Bruce said nothing and Dick gave himself a mental point, "You want me to stick around for the night?"

"It's been pretty quiet," came the surprising response, Dick had expected to be scoffed at.

Nightwing stood, "Then I'm heading out. You should know, if you _happen_ to need something in the next few days I won't be around. I'm following a case out of town, undercover. So don't call unless the world is ending or you're dying again."

Bruce nodded, "let me know when you're back."

"Sure," Dick got a wicked gleam in his eye as he prepared to leap off the building. Turning quickly he grabbed the computer off of Batman's belt, "and what have you been looking at all night?" He stopped dumbfounded at the image.

Batman snatched the handheld back.

"You're spying on Kayla's date?"

* * *

><p><strong>Who is going to be attacked next? What is Luthor up to? What are Batman and Nightwing talking about? Does it bother anyone else when authors ask questions like these?<strong>

**Just trying to make a point with the above. Also I'm ****really**** excited about the next couple of chapters, I've got an idea I find hilarious for my next 'arc' so it might take a wee bit longer because I really want it to work out…**

**Reviews….**


	17. Bomb

Prison is never a nice place to be, Deadshot knew that first hand, this prison however was worse than most. He'd never had the honour of being sent to Belle Reve before as he didn't technically have any superpowers, he supposed this meant he qualified as a threat. He could have done without that particular honour.

It wasn't that the people were different, super-powered or not most of these guys (and gals) were complete idiots. The difference was the people running this place actually did their jobs because society cared about keeping these super-freaks locked up, that was going to make it harder for him to bust out of here.

Or not. When one almost eats the words 'be prepared you idiot' scrawled on a piece of paper in the middle of their baloney sandwich, one tends to pay attention. Even if he hadn't been it would have been hard for Deadshot to miss it. The explosion rocked the entire complex, sending a portion of the supposedly impenetrable walls flying.

Prisoners paused then ran en masse towards the new opening, Deadshot made to join their ranks when a hand grabbed him from a nearby corridor. It was a prison orderly and he looked nervous,

"In here sir," he pointed to a large crate beside him, "the wall is just a distraction." Deadshot didn't look convinced, "it's on his orders." The orderly tried again, "please sir, the Justice League will be here in twenty seconds." He then handed Deadshot another piece of paper which said, 'get in the box you idiot.' Deadshot got into the crate.

When it opened three hours later Deadshot found himself greeted with Copperhead's ugly mug, "Rise and shine crazy."

Deadshot folded himself out of the crate to find himself in an old, leaking, dark warehouse, "What did I miss?"

Shade crossed his arms, "Not much, just the biggest attempted jailbreak from Belle Reve, only three successful escapes though, courtesy of the Justice League."

"What I don't understand," Star Sapphire crossed her arms and leaned back, "is why I had to use my own skills to get out of their and this pansie gets a hand-delivered get out of jail free card."

"Jealous?" Deadshot smirked.

She smiled evilly, "Quiet or I'll waste you."

"Unlikely," Deadshot whipped out a gun, his benefactor had been kind enough to stash a few in the box for him.

"No-one is wasting anybody," came a voice bathed in a sickly green light, "Deadshot here is apparently indispensable to the new plan." Metallo stepped forward and gave Sapphire a pointed look, "Apparently we can always get more superpowered freaks, heck Cadmus is making them by the barrelful but skills like what our boy Deadshot here has, those are harder to come by."

Deadshot smirked, it was nice to finally one-up the freaks, "So what's the deal? This new plan better be good cause the old one wasn't working out for me."

"I don't make the plans," Metallo shrugged, "I just send the orders. Deadshot is team leader, you'll find everything you need at the drop point. You'll also meet up with a few more team members."

"Who?"

"It doesn't matter." Metallo said, "you'll know when you see them. All you need to know is that you need to cover the Justice League's skin with this stuff, make sure it's their skin. So you're going to have to do something about the uniforms, there are more detailed instructions at the drop point."

Deadshot nodded, holstering his gun, "Fine, let's go."

"I should warn you," Metallo cautioned, "don't let it touch your skin either."

Copperhead couldn't help but ask, "What's this stuff do?"

The grin on Metallo's fake face was evil, "I'm told it brings together to make the tearing apart that much more effective."

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you want to do this?" Shayara asked, "I mean, I think it's fantastic but… it is Batman."<p>

Diana smiled, "I just want to get some kind of human reaction out of him."

"This'll do it alright," Shayara chuckled, "how far will you take it?"

Wonder Woman shrugged, "The man is all about control, if I can break that control. Well, it could be interesting. I've just got to throw things at him that he'll never see coming."

Shayara nodded, "This definitely counts, just don't fall prey to your own plan." She finished with a wicked grin.

"Please," Diana said, "I'm Wonder Woman, people fall in love with me."

* * *

><p>"You couldn't contain one prison breakout?" Batman felt like rubbing his forehead.<p>

Superman crossed his arms, "there were over a dozen superpowered prisoners all flocking towards us, we did our best but statistically some were going to get through. Don't worry we'll catch them soon."

Batman felt like grumbling but restrained. He was running on less sleep than usual as Robin was away on a class ski trip for the week, turning towards the Watchtower computers he chose to ignore the man in blue behind him.

"We lost Star Sapphire, Deadshot and the Riddler, any connection between them?" Superman asked.

"Currently," Batman said tonelessly, "I'm assuming that there is a connection between every criminal we meet."

"That's a little paranoid no?" Wonder Woman's voice teased from the doorway.

Batman pulled up some satellite imagery, "If you say so. Shouldn't you be with Shayara?"

"She's with John," Diana held up a hand to stop his protests, "There is no glare in the world fierce enough to make me interrupt them, not when they're finally starting to get along again."

Batman stared at her for a moment, then turned back to the console; point Diana.

"So," she leaned against the monitors in a forced casual manner, "I've got tickets to the next Gotham versus Metropolis football game, want to go?"

If Superman's eyes could have popped out of his head, this would be the moment. Even Batman felt his eyebrows rise involuntarily under the cowl, his voice however was cool, "Batman can't be seen in public."

Diana arched an eyebrow, "Talking about yourself in the third person? Never a good sign. Well you could always go as whoever is under that mask."

"Nice try Princess," was the only response she got.

She shrugged, "I'm sure you've got a couple thousand disguises hidden away in the famed BatCave, you wouldn't even have to go as you."

That threw him for a moment and he actually entertained the idea, then, "Too risky."

Diana's smile resembled a shark, "So then your only objection is the secret identity, not to the idea of the date itself."

Batman froze, he'd walked right into that trap and she knew it by the way she was grinning at him. He heard Superman snickering in the corner.

He needed to end this, "Don't you already have a boyfriend Princess, I never pegged you for the two-timing variety." He tried insulting her.

It didn't work, "Steven?" she mused, "I can hardly count him as a boyfriend. Just a few conversations, one date, he's a remarkably busy man for the supposedly leisure filled life he leads."

Batman infused his next words with sarcasm, "I'm sure lazing about all day is very tiring."

Diana's eyes twinkled, "Ah no, see you're thinking of Bruce Wayne. Now there's a man who doesn't know what to do with the gifts he's been given. Hera help us all if he started to show a little initiative."

"That's unlikely Princess, he's the most worthless man in Gotham." Batman said.

She shrugged, "I wouldn't go that far. Watch your tongue Batman, he's actually a friend."

Batman infused his next words with ice, "Bruce Wayne doesn't have friends, he has male business associates and female conquests. I hope the naïve Princess isn't falling for his rich boy spell."

Batman gave himself a point when Diana stared at him, speechless. Then the forgotten Superman jumped back in, "Uh guys, I think I found one of our escapees, he's in Gotham."

Batman's harsh voice grated across the Watchtower speaker, "Everybody to the teleporters, now."

* * *

><p>Under Batman's orders they appeared a block away from the chaos and instead of rushing in blindly the team actually waited for a strategy. They weren't willing to risk another member being targeted, plus it was Batman's city, Batman's rules.<p>

"We'll be working in teams," the Dark Knight said, his tone broking no arguments, "At all times, stay within grabbing distance of your partners no matter how you are bated." He locked eyes with each team member, "They've got Tala and Metallo with them so Superman is the most likely target, but it could be anyone."

"What are the teams?" Flash asked, eager to get going.

Batman said smoothly, "J'onn and Superman, John and Shayara, Flash and Diana."

"And you?" Lantern asked, "You're not really thinking about going alone are you?"

Batman seemed to slide into a corner, "My skills aren't conducive to align with another team member's. I work alone."

"That's ridiculous," Wonder Woman said firmly, "Flash can go with J'onn and Superman if he's the most likely target. I'll go with you, I'm sure I can make up for your weakness." There was a challenge in her eyes and the League held their breath.

Batman didn't have time to argue, "Fine, just don't slow me down _Princess_. Let's move people."

* * *

><p>"Shayara, John, keep Metallo away from Superman." Batman ordered while ducking a blow from Mr. Freeze, Diana right beside him as she wrestled with Clayface. Batman would never admit it but she had been able to keep up.<p>

All in all the team was faring well, the chest of Flash's uniform was in tatters from Cheetah's claws but with his accelerated healing rate the scratches were of no concern. Batman through a Batarang at Freeze, intent on cracking his helmet open but a jet of ice stopped it cold. Batman growled in aggravation, Diana landed beside him with a thump, wincing from Clayface's throw.

"Trade you?" She asked. Not waiting for an answer she threw her lasso and despite the freeze bolt sent its way, the lariat's course was true. Batman hardly spared the scenario a second glance as he activated the electrodes in the knuckles of his gloves. Turning he pounded Clayface with a couple thousand volts of power, the clay-like compound couldn't take the stress and started to harden under his hands.

Suddenly Batman found himself halfway across the street and stuck in what seemed to be a mini, purple tornado. Parasite had leeched Flash's powers, Batman wished he could have stolen Superman's, a little Kryptonite and this situation would have been over. He saw Diana headed his way through the haze. Batman reached into his utility belt and pulled out a variety of small spheres, intending on tripping the new speedster up.

Instead Parasite ripped by him, grabbed his gloves and sped away. Batman's brain was whirling, another odd thing to factor into the equation. In fact all of the villains had vacated the area as though they'd received a silent command. Batman's eyes narrowed as he took in the scene before him.

The street was torn up and clear of life-forms besides the League. Superman was speaking to J'onn. Flash had zoomed over to give Shayara back her mace, which had somehow ended up across the street, John next to them, his eyes wary. Diana landed next to Batman's shoulder, "I don't suppose you have any idea what going on here?"

He flexed his fingers, they looked odd without the gloves, "Not yet." The words were a promise.

They just had time to hear Superman yell, "Look out!" when the world seemed to explode.

Batman was lifted backwards and up by about ten feet, unable to see anything in the cloud of dust he braced himself for impact, hoping that it wouldn't be into any sharp. Suddenly he felt a small hand grasp his bare, right hand in midair, stopping his fall, Diana. She worked with the momentum of the blast, allowing them to be carried backwards but keeping control of the flight path.

There was an odd tingling sensation in his hand, Batman dismissed it as a lack of blood due to her tight grip. Still, it was an interesting sensation, Batman didn't usually touch people. The full body uniform was necessary for physical protection, and more recently for DNA analysis prevention.

They landed in an ally a few blocks away from the blast.

"You okay?" Diana asked.

Batman nodded, "Fine, you?"

"Perfectly," she bite her lip slightly, "I don't know what they were hoping to achieve with that."

Batman was wondering the same but was slightly distracted, "You can let go of my hand now Princess." He said gruffly, trying to remove his hand but finding her superstrength a deterrent.

"Sorry," Diana said quickly but her left hand stayed firmly in his. Her eyes widened, "Uh Batman, I can't seem to let go." Batman quickly tried wiggling his fingers, they stayed firmly attached to Diana's skin.

"Pull," he commanded at once. She did so, to the point where pulling any harder would have dislocated Batman's arm. Blue eyes met cowled ones as they realized that they were literally stuck together.

A frantic voice on the comm link cut the moment, "Batman! Wonder Woman!" Flash shouted, "Come in, come in, come in! Bats you had better be there, we've got a problem. A big problem. Hello? Anyone there?" Voices could be heard in the background, unhappy voices.

"Flash, we're here." Diana said quickly, "What's the problem?"

"We're stuck together," the speedster wailed.

"On our way," Batman cut him off. Then turning to Diana he said, "You had better fly us over."

Wonder Woman and Batman landed back in the battle zone and Diana immediately thanked all the gods on Olympus that she and Batman had been blown clear of the rest of the group.

Shayara, John and Wally were a tangled mess as they'd obviously landed in some kind of pile. Shayara's forearm was glued to Wally's chest while the front left of John's chest was stuck to the right side of Shayara's back, just beside her wing. She looked ready to murder someone.

However J'onn and Superman were the worst off, somehow J'onn was stuck phasing halfway through Superman with his head and shoulders coming out of Superman's chest while his legs remained behind the man of steel's torso. Diana couldn't stop staring.

Batman stared at them for a moment then immediately pulled out a test tube from his belt and barely managed to cap it with one hand, "something in the bomb." He mumbled.

"You think?" Diana said sarcastically, shaking their interlocked fingers, "I think this is completely natural."

"Bats! Wondy!" Flash attempted to speed over to them but was stopped by his new cargo, "what happened? We're stuck! Fix it!"

Batman crouched, pulling Wonder Woman down with him and started taking samples from the ground, he didn't look up as he said, "Flash, take off your glove and touch Shayara's skin."

"What?" came multiple voices.

"Do it." Flash did so and nothing happened. Batman nodded once, "its quick acting then," and lost himself in his head again.

Superman walked himself and J'onn over to the group. Looking down at his chest he asked, "J'onn, you can't phase out of me?"

The Martian shook his head, causing Superman's body to turn with him, "Apparently not. If you were a normal human I could but doing so would rip parts of your skin off, with your Kryptonian physiology I am more likely to severely injure myself."

Batman returned to the conversation, "It's skin on skin contact."

"Can't be," Shayara said, "I'm clearly stuck to Lantern right through his suit."

"Actually," John corrected her, "it's not a suit in conventional terms, it's made of energy. Technically it's not even there, it's an extension of my ring."

Batman nodded, "Only what you're wearing underneath would count as protection from whatever adhesion molecule they've used."

Shayara tried to turn and glare at him but they were forced to turn together, pulling Flash with them, "And you couldn't have worn a shirt?" she hissed.

"At least that explains why that particular team was here," Batman said softly, attempting to go through his utility belt with only his left hand.

"Why?" Diana asked, obviously close enough to hear him.

Batman didn't even look at her, "it only works on skin or Shayara's feathers would be stuck to John too. Cheetah, Metallo, Ultra-humanite, they have no exposed skin so if they did get stuck in the crossfire it wouldn't matter. It also explains why parasite stole my gloves."

"And Cheetah slashed up my suit!" Flash put in, "This reeks, I hate having to make these things."

"We're stuck together or inside of each other," Shayara said, "and you're worried about making a new suit."

Diana tried to make peace, "Look, let's just teleport up to the Watchtower and get to the lab, I'm sure we can figure this out."

"No," Batman and J'onn said quickly. J'onn explained, "We can't risk teleporting in this condition. There is a possibility that the strength of the adhesion could be increased by the dis and reassembly of our molecules, making this irreversible."

"Oooookay, teleporter is out." Flash said, "We got any javelins stashed around here?"

Silence was his answer.

"What about your ring Lantern?" Superman asked, "I know it's far but…"

John cut him off, "I'm low on power already from that sea creature in the arctic this morning, I don't want to risk making it halfway and having my ring stop working in the middle of space."

"What about the BatJet?" All eyes turned to Batman who was trying to figure out a way to use his cape to hide the fact that he was holding Wonder Woman's hand. This was Gotham after all and _that_ was the last thing he needed getting out.

"Only holds two," Batman said, "For now, we're earth bound. We need a place to lie low while I figure this out."

Superman shrugged, "We don't have a lot of options, Diana, J'onn and Shayara live on the Tower, Flash and I can't just waltz up to our homes with the Justice League in tow. I know that John's house is being lived in by a couple of those families from the last earthquake…"

That was when the second bomb went off, this one more conventional. The League was blasted backwards again and when the smoke cleared a second time they found themselves still stuck together. The only difference was significantly more scrapes and bruises.

A cursory x-ray by Superman revealed a fracture in Shayara's arm from where Flash's body had yanked it back. The speedster himself was unconscious, as the backlash from John's ring being unable to contain the explosion hadn't been good for his system. Batman too was unconscious, having had the unfortunate position of landing with Diana, Superman and J'onn all on top of him.

Diana took in the disheveled, broken, stuck-together team and made an executive decision. "We're going to Batman's house."

Shayara nodded, clutching her arm, "It's the only option. There's got to be something there that can help us, or at least call his sidekick."

Superman wasn't sure, "I thought that we weren't going to force ourselves on him?"

Diana shrugged, "We don't have a choice now. Walters lives about ten minutes away from here." She lugged Batman's limp body over her shoulder and patted him on the head, "poor Steve, you're in for quite the surprise when you wake up."

* * *

><p><strong>BAHA!<strong>

**I'm so excited for the next chapter!**


	18. Steven Walters

Unlike Gotham's 'Prince Wayne', Steven Walters did not have the privilege of having an ancestral family castle to call his home; he had to make due with an exquisite penthouse comprising of the top five floors of Gotham's second highest skyscraper. The Justice League decided to skip the elevator and deposited themselves through an open window into what appeared to be the living room.

Flash looked around, having just woken up, "So this is Bat's place? Nice digs…" the speedster gave it one second of appreciation, "Anyone know where the kitchen is?"

"You're not eating his food," Shayara told the man attached to her forearm.

Wally looked at her, "Why not? It's not like he can't afford it." Shayara had no good answer for him. So he made to speed of through the house, forgetting once again that he was currently attached to two of his teammates.

The three of them did an odd stumble, thrown off by the sudden attempted change in momentum. The twist resulted in one of Shayara's wings clipping the edge of a nearby display case, alarms began blaring.

Superman tried to shout something to Diana but she couldn't hear it over the Klaxon. Finally he pointed to a small security box on the wall equipped with a fingerprint scanner. Nodding, Diana dragged Batman over to device and pressed his free thumb into the gel pad, expecting an immediate security clearance; nothing happened. Diana quickly tried again with all of the fingers but still to no avail.

The team met each other's eyes, the confusion obvious. Flash, in reaching distance of Batman, removed one hand from where it was shielding his ear and starting hitting Batman upside the head, his mouth obviously saying the words, "Wake up, wake up, wake up."

A hand grabbed Flash's before he could hit Batman a fifth time and the Dark Knight himself squinted the eyes of the cowl at his team. The alarm cut off and the League mentally celebrated their victory at successfully determining Batman's identity.

This celebration was cut off when a male voice called across the room, "What is going on here?" Steven Walters stood in the doorway of the room, his thumb pressed firmly against a second security pad. Flash's jaw dropped as his head bobbed between Batman and Walters, his teammates weren't much better at disguising their surprise.

"St-ttt-eve?" Diana stammered.

The billionaire walked towards them, he was sweaty and had a pair of boxing gloves hanging over his shoulder, "You were expecting someone else? This is my home."

Shayara gave speech a try, "But you, you're not, but we thought," she finally settled on one word, "how?"

Walters crossed his arms, "If you've got a reason for being here state it, otherwise please leave, I'm expecting company shortly." He paused as he looked them over again, "in fact you should be pleased that I'm not accusing you of breaking and entering. I'm sure the press would have a field day."

Superman was attempting to shield J'onn's head with the Flash/Shayara/John combination but he still to spoke up, "Actually Walters, we were just passing through and…"

Diana cut him off, "I just need to ask you one question Steve."

"Make is quick," he snapped.

Diana fought off her irritation. She involuntarily squeezed Batman's hand, as if to reassure herself that this wasn't some sort of elaborate ruse on his part. Swallowing down her embarrassment and pulling Wonder Woman to the forefront of her persona, she said, "I need you to take off your shirt."

Everyone stared at her.

"I beg your pardon?" Walters sounded incredulous, "I'd rather not."

Wonder Woman held up her lasso, "There are two ways this can go, you can take off your shirt or I can use these to ask you a few questions."

"Why?" Walters was watching her, his eyes wary.

She hadn't been going to answer his question but Flash jumped in, "We thought you were Batman, now we're double checking."

"Batman," Walter's face looked impressed with himself, "as in the man who's standing right beside you." His face was smug. Pulling off his shirt Walters held out his arms, "If that's your only concern by all means, do both and then leave me alone."

She looked him over with an appraising eyes, then despite only having one free hand, looped him in the lasso, "Are you Batman?"

He chuckled once, "No, I'm not crazy." She retracted the lasso. "Now get out of my house." He turned to leave, "And Wonder Woman, I assume this means I won't be seeing you again?"

She blushed slightly, "I'm sorry Steven but no, you won't."

"Just as well," he shrugged, "I like my girls a little more manageable. If you're ever in the market for a billionaire playboy boyfriend again for a mission do me a favour? Ask Bruce Wayne instead."

"Welllllll," Flash whistled, "this is awkward."

* * *

><p>They landed in a back alley a block away from Walters' apartment with most of the League still in some state of shock or embarrassment.<p>

There was one exception. Batman was smiling. He wasn't smirking at them knowingly, but full on 'I just pulled the best prank ever' smiling; that more than anything else, made the League feel like idiots.

He tried to hold it in but he couldn't help it, turning to Diana he had to ask, "So, I'm Steven Walters?"

She glared at him, "It seemed to fit at the time."

"You may want to rethink that one Princess." He chastised, relishing the moment.

Superman spoke up, "I've got a question. Diana, why did you make the poor man take off his shirt?"

"Because she wanted to see his 'hot body'" Shayara interjected on Diana's behalf.

Batman smirked, he was well aware of that conversation.

The Amazon Princess both blushed and sent a glare her way, "It occurred to me that Batman here," she slapped him in the chest harder than necessary, "has a multitude of scars. Steven, obviously did not."

John spoke up from where he permanently appeared to be hiding behind Shayara, "This is great and all, and I'm sure in his own twisted way that Batman is enjoying this immensely but shouldn't our main focus be on getting free of each other before the next disaster hits?"

"Agreed," Superman said, "No offense J'onn but I'm more comfortable without your head in my chest."

J'onn didn't seem particularly offended. Diana turned to Batman, "So what's the plan?"

The cowl seemed to mock her, "You seem to be doing fairly well on your own Princess."

"Now he gets a sense of humour," Flash moaned, "Come on Bats, Shayara won't let me eat! We aren't all stuck holding hands with the world's hottest woman."

"If I could use my hand I would hit you," Shayara commented absently.

Batman turned, pulling Diana with him, "There are a couple of back alley's we can stay in. But we'll have to stay on alert, I'll call my associates to run some tests but we could be stuck in this position for at least a full day depending on the results."

"A full day at minimum living in an alley?" Diana used her strength to pull him back, "I don't think so. Surely you can do better than that."

They engaged in a staring contest, "Not without compromising my secret identity. Or is that less important to the _Princess_ then getting a little dirty?"

"Come on Bats, we're not all use to skulking in corners!" Flash put in, "and I'm starving!"

Shayara interrupted the staring contest, "I've got one other option, but no-one's going to like it, I don't even like it."

"If there's food, I'll like it." Flash assured her, "What is it?"

Shayara shrugged, "How do you feel about begging?"

* * *

><p>The League stared at the door in front of them wishing that it was a supervillian or an exploding volcano or a nuclear meltdown, something they knew how to deal with.<p>

"Hot Amazon Warriors first," Flash said pushing Diana and consequently Batman to the front.

Diana bit her lip, "It was Shayara's idea."

"But Bruce Wayne likes you better," the Thanagarian piped up, "besides, you've barged in on him before and didn't get thrown out."

Diana was still hesitant but Batman didn't seem to have any such qualms, without further ado he knocked roughly twice paused knocked once paused and knocked twice more on Wayne Manor's door.

The butler opened the door once again, "Welcome back Princess, Justice League," the man said smoothly as though he'd been expecting them, "to what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Alfred," Diana greeted the man, "well I hate to ask but we may need to impose on Bruce's hospitality once again."

Alfred opened the door to allow them inside, "Of course, it would be our pleasure. Unfortunately the master is on a jaunt to the Caribbean at the moment but Miss Kayla and I would be happy to help you in any way possible."

The seven strolled, stumbled or were partially carried into the manor as Alfred continued, "Might I ask, what seems to be the situation?" He paused upon spotting J'onn and Superman, "Oh my, it seems that you have managed to get yourselves in a bit of a dilemma."

"We hate to impose," Superman said meekly, "but we don't have a lot of options at the moment."

Alfred waved him off, "Understandable sir. I'd imagine that you cannot risk going to your own homes or that Watchtower as I believe the newspapers call it, without significant problems." The butler ran an appraising eye over them, "although I can offer you both nourishment and a place to stay I do not know how much I can do for your current situation."

"We appreciate any help you can offer," John said.

Alfred turned to Batman and pretended not to see that he was holding Diana's hand, "I must say sir, I always assumed you were an urban legend. I'll have to inform Master Wayne that he was right." The butler's tone confused the League, it seemed almost chastising, "But I suppose that anonymity is _necessary_ for your particular brand of work."

Batman brushed him off, "I'll be contacting alternative members to analyze our condition."

"Of course sir," Alfred said.

Flash cut in, "Uh, excuse me, Jeeves? Um I've got a super fast metabolism and I haven't eaten in hours and I was wondering if maybe you had something I could munch?"

"Of course sir," The butler said the line again but this time with a smile, "If you would just give me a moment?" Flash nodded, "Please, make yourselves at home. Miss Kayla is somewhere on the grounds but besides that you shouldn't be disturbed." With that the butler bowed out of the room gracefully, chuckling to himself all the while and hoping that the Manor's security cameras were catching every second of Master Bruce's 'torture' for future playback.

The Flash/Shayara/John combo collapsed onto the couch, although the only way this was possible was for Shayara to sit on John's lap. This lead to twenty seconds of awkward shuffling before Shayara just got over it and perched on John's knee. Superman couldn't sit with J'onn poking out of him but he seemed comfortable enough floating in space. Diana sat in a nearby chair, forcing Batman to remain standing beside her as punishment for his earlier teasing, he didn't seem to care.

Batman was already dialing his 'associates' and the team got to listen in for the first time.

"Oracle, come in." He snapped into the line, "We've got ears so stay sharp." Diana extrapolated that this was their code for when superhuman ears were listening to both sides of the conversation. Although he was paranoid she had to applaud him for being prepared.

"Go ahead B," Oracle's voice was curious, "you don't usually call during daylight, what's up?"

"I need you to send someone over to perform analysis and to pick up some samples I took, there was an incident with the League." Batman said quickly.

"You can't do that yourself?" Oracle's voice had a slight whine, "I'm absolutely swamped picking up everyone's slack already."

Batman growled, "No, I can't"

"Why not?" she said absently, "what's the big emergency?"

Surprisingly Batman took the time to explain, "The League was hit with some kind of adhesive molecule, we're literally stuck together. I can't get to the cave to run analysis."

Oracle's voice grew sharp as she started to pay attention, "What kind of adhesion?"

"Unconfirmed," Batman rattled off, "relies on skin on skin contact, fast acting, delivered most likely as an airborne agent from an explosive. I need someone sent to both the initial site and to me for samples."

"Mmmmhmmmm," Oracle's mind was whirling now, "probably some kind of cell adhesion molecule stimulant, not so much a glue. What's your current location?"

"Wayne Manor," Batman seemed oddly quick to explain that statement, "Apparently Wonder Woman is friends with Bruce Wayne."

Oracle didn't question him, "I don't have any free agents B, you may have to wait a while."

"I don't have a while to wait," Batman growled, "Send Nightwing."

Flash looked at Superman and mouthed the words 'who's Nightwing'? The Man of Steel shrugged.

"I can't," Oracle reminded him, "he's deep undercover, working on a case, I can't blow that for him because you're not feeling patient." Diana snickered as she listened in. Batman shot her a look but she smiled innocently back.

"I hope they send that Robin kid," Shayara said to John, who nodded in agreement. Oracle seemed to hear them.

"And I can't send Robin because he's still away on that trip and it will take him a couple days to get back even if he left now."

Batman went a different route, "Send Huntress." The League raised their eyebrows, they'd heard of Huntress, she was a loose cannon.

Oracle snorted, "Please, she's in Italy again. Once again you'd have to wait a few days."

"Fine," Batman sounded like he was getting desperate, "Send Black Canary, or one of the other Birds. They can at least bring everything back to you, even if they can't run the tests themselves."

"They're already occupied," she said with a tone that allowed him to hear her rolling her eyes, "on your orders. They're spread too thin as is."

The League heard Batman's teeth grind, "Just find somebody."

"Look B," Oracle's tone brooked no argument, "Unless you want me rolling up there with nothing but a smile on my face to hide our identities, you're pretty much out of options." She paused, "Actually, is Catwoman still on that 'reformed character' kick?"

"No," Batman admitted grudgingly, "I caught her stealing diamonds a few nights ago."

"Then I am out of ideas." Oracle sounded like she was shrugging, "I mean, I guess I could just send a delivery service…." She trailed off. "I've got an idea."

"Who?"

"I don't know if they'll do it. But I'll give them a call," Oracle was ignoring his question, "Hopefully someone will be there within the hour." She hung up on him.

Batman looked up to find Wonder Woman and Superman grinning at him, "Problems with your team?" Diana asked, "I'd have thought that you'd have more resources."

He ignored the fact that he had far more resources than anyone else in the League and went straight for the guilt card, "Most are unavailable because I have them looking into your attempted murders."

They all squirmed slightly, "Oh, well. Tell them thanks," Shayara mumbled.

Alfred returned to the room bearing two trays of sandwiches, "One for Master Flash, one of the rest of you." He said placing the trays on the table. Flash's was literally gone in a blink. Alfred hardly seemed phased, "Well, if that is the usual rate of consumption, I will be at the store."

"Don't worry about it Jeeves," Flash felt bad, "I'll uh make due."

Alfred waved him off, "Nonsense sir, it's not as though Master Bruce can't afford to feed you properly. In fact, I'm sure he would insist on it, although," the butler added, "I wouldn't be adverse to you not calling me Jeeves." He left gracefully. The League proceeded to stuff their faces, Superman feeding both himself and J'onn whose hand were stuck somewhere in Superman's midsection. The exception was Batman, who kept shuffling through his utility belt with his free head and mumbling to himself.

After a few minutes Superman had to ask, "You're allowed to take a quick break Batman, why don't you eat something?"

His answer was cut off by the doorbell, the League froze. "Are we supposed to get that?" Flash asked after the second ring.

Something flew past the doorway screeching, "Alfred, I got it! Don't get it! I got it!"

"He's not home!" Flash called back amicably. Then shrugged at Batman's look, "What? She was going to figure out we were here sooner or later."

They heard a short conversation at the door then Kayla Wayne's head popped around the doorframe, glasses sliding to the end of her nose and one eyebrow raised in a quizzical manner, "Holy Justice League!" She confidently waltzed into the room, her skirt swishing about her thighs and a Fedex box stuffed under her arm. This wasn't the Kayla that Wonder Woman had seen last time with sweatpants and fuzzy slippers; this was the tabloid's Kayla Wayne. Resplendent in clothes of designer name only and pulled together in a way that only a team of experts should have been able to accomplish, brown hair freshly highlighted and perfectly accessorized.

She snagged a sandwich and began to delicately nibble on it, "what ya doing here?"

"Infringing on your hospitality," Diana said honestly.

Kayla didn't seem to care as her eyes landed on Superman and J'onn, by far containing the most obvious problem of the group, "Ooooookay, like better question, what the heck happened to you?" She didn't seem to require an answer, "That is totally freaky. Super-bad-guys have some really whacky ideas. Although," she bit her lip, "I can think of some ridiculously hilarious applications for sticking people together."

A patented Bruce Wayne grin lit her face as she caught sight of Batman and Wonder Woman, "Awwwwww, that's adorable! You were holding hands when it hit you! That's so cute!" A high pitched squeal accompanied the statement.

A few members of the League choked on their food, Shayara guffawed, Diana both blushed and laughed and although all Kayla could see was the glare she was willing to bet that there was a bit more emotion under Batman's cowl.

"Not exactly," Diana told her.

The girl visibly deflated, "I like my way better." She re-inflated, "so are you going to be here for a while?"

"Possibly," J'onn's expression was guarded.

"Well," Kayla said, "if you're going to be here. There's all sorts of cool stuff to do. We've got a workout room, a pool, basketball courts, a game room, stables, gardens, library, huge TV, basically whatever you want." Batman finally managed to catch her eye and she hastily added, "I'd stay out of Dad's study though, it used to be _his_ dad's and he's a little possessive of it."

Flash looked interested, "You've got a pool?"

"Yupp," she grinned, "with like a hottub, whirlpool, sauna, I'm sure we can find some suits if you want." She looked them over, "speaking of which, are you going to want to stay in your costumes the whole time?" She looked at Flash's ripped suit distastefully. "Like I get that you need to masks but I can grab you some stuff that's a little more comfortable."

"We wouldn't want to impose," Diana said, even as she looked over the team. Their uniforms were in pretty bad shape, torn, dirty, in a couple of places bloodstained, most of them could use a shower. Diana's eyes flickered to Batman knowing that there was no way that she was taking a shower with him attached to her.

"Please," Kayla exhaled loudly, "I'm like heading out to go shopping with my bffs anyways. I'll just grab a few things." A grandfather clocked chimed a few rooms over and Kayla looked alarmed, "ah sugarshootshitshack, I'm late." She dropped the package on a nearby table and sprinted from the room, "have fun I'll catch y'all tonight!" The door slammed behind her.

Flash's eyes pleaded with Shayara and John, "they have a pool…"

"No." John said instantly.

"Pllllllllleeeeeeeeeease, pretty please, please, with cherries and sugar and chocolate sauce on top!" he begged.

Batman put an end to it, "No-one is going anywhere until the initial tests are done."

"So we've just got to sit here?" Flash looked horrified. The situation was oddly awkward, although they were used to spending long hours in each other's company they were always doing things, never just sitting and chatting.

Of course it was Flash that broke the silence, "So remind me again, whose idea was it that Bats was a rich Gotham billionaire," he grinned at the girls, "and that he was Steven Walters?"

* * *

><p><strong>If anyone has any ideas about who Oracle is sending to check on the League I'd love to hear them. I'm pretty sure I know who but if someone has a really excellent idea I'm open for additions!<strong>

**Regrettably this will probably be the last time that we see our delightful fake Batman, Steven Walters. **


	19. A Batgirl In Yellow

Somehow the intervening period had turned into 'Analyze Batman' time and the man in question was not particularly thrilled, although there was a creeping sense of amusement in the back of his head that prevented an outright 'stop-the-conversation glare'. Somewhere in this chunk of time Diana had gotten sick of apparently losing all the blood in her hand, which he knew was impossible for her, and had forced him to sit on the arm of the chair which _apparently_ somehow allowed her blood to once again flow freely. He wasn't buying it.

"I think Bats is a cop!" was Flash's latest self-proclaimed brilliant breakthrough, "after all, he's got all of those mad detective skills."

"A cop couldn't afford an outfit like that," Shayara reminded him.

Flash wasn't to be deterred, "Ok, a cop who's friends with a rich guy. Or maybe who works for the FBI" Flash's eyes grew large, "they've got to pay spies a lot of dough right?"

"Let's think this through Flash," Superman said patiently, "If Batman won't tell us his secret identity I doubt he's willing to trust the FBI."

"But they don't have to know! Bats is a double agent! That's where he gets all of his cool gadgets!" Flash was on a roll.

John attempted to cross his arms over his chest before realizing that Shayara's wings made that impossible, "He wouldn't have time Flash."

"You don't know that!" The speedster was indignant, "you're part of the FBI aren't you Bats?" he asked.

"No."

Flash's face fell, "Oh, but it made so much sense."

"It made no sense," Shayara told him bluntly.

They were cut off by a small beep coming from Batman's utility belt. Reaching into his belt he deftly pulled out a small computer and began flicking through the on-screen images. Diana craned her neck to watch what he was doing.

"You know what really makes no sense?" Flash continued, "how Bats always has everything that we could ever possibly need in his belt. I mean how does he fit it all in there? How does he know what to bring? And there's almost an endless supply of bat-a-rang thingies. Some of the stuff that comes out of there is huge." Flash stretch out his arms to demonstrate and almost knocked Shayara in the head, "Sorry Shy."

She brushed him off, "He's just really lucky."

"No, everything is planned out in advance, multiple belts with different components depending on the situation," John countered.

"Magical utility belt," was Superman's contribution.

J'onn's was technical, "A device to reduce the molecular distances in orbitals, thereby allowing size changes of objects." They looked at him funny, "we were working on them on Mars." He explained.

"What about you Di?" Flash asked.

Wonder Woman looked up from where she was watching Batman go over shots of the explosion frame by frame, "I'd guess that it's just a normal belt and Batman has created the illusion that it's endless and also has what he needs by improvising the same way any trained warrior would." She went back to spying on the computer.

Batman looked up sharply upon her comment, met her eyes briefly and then said plainly, "Pocket dimension contained in the pouches."

Multiple jaws dropped open. Flash's was the biggest, "Whoa, no way! That's so cool. Really Bats? A pocket dimension?"

Batman cut him off, "No, it's just a belt."

There was a stunned silence, although a small smile played at the corner of Diana's mouth. Then Superman just had to ask, "Did Batman just tell a joke?"

He decided to head them off before they spent the next twenty minutes analyzing his comment, "Zatanna is at the bomb site."

Flash's face light up, "We get to meet Zatanna? She's hot."

Seeing as Diana and Shayara sent Flash their own versions of the Batglare Batman didn't deem his necessary as he said, "I doubt Oracle could convince her to come here unless it's absolutely necessary. We had an argument recently."

"Can't imagine why," John muttered, "what with his charming personality and all."

Superman chuckled slightly as his sensitive ears caught the words, then asked, "Our situation isn't absolutely necessary?"

Batman shook his head slightly, "If she is unable to find any magical traces at the origin of the explosion then she will not find any on us."

"Magic is notoriously sticky to spell origins," Diana explained.

Flash waved his hands in the air again, putting Shayara in jeopardy, "Well then who's coming Bats? I thought your Oracle person said that they'd be here twenty minutes ago. I want to go swimming."

"We are not going swimming." Shayara reiterated.

"We'll discuss your terms later," Flash waved her off, "what's the deal Batman? I thought you Bats were notoriously punctual, it better be someone really awesome if I'm waiting this long."

"There are a couple of options," Batman hedged, unsure of who Oracle was supposed to be sending their way.

"Just how many people are on this team?" Diana asked curiously.

Batman pulled his cape a little closer, "It's not a team."

Superman rolled his eyes, an odd look for the boy scout, "You know what we meant Batman, who are all of these associates of yours? It can't reveal anything to tell us how many people you've worked with."

Batman hesitated again but the determined look in the eyes of his current 'partner' told him that it would be a miserable 24 hours if he didn't cooperate. He didn't need the distraction, "Current working associates include Nightwing, Robin, Oracle, Huntress, Zatanna, Black Canary and the Birds of Prey. Occasional contacts include The Outsiders, Manhunter, Jason Blood, Wildcat, Question, Plastic Man, Red Hood, Deadman, Azrael, Ragman, Catwoman, and Creeper. Plus additional specialized contacts as needed."

Eyebrows were raised as he rattled off the list, "for someone who apparently lacks team skills that is quite the list," Shayara told him.

"I'm not good enough for you?" sarcasm dripped from a female voice and the League turned towards the window.

A girl in a black and yellow batsuit was perched on the window frame watching them intently.

"Hey hey hey," Flash said, "I've heard of you! You're uh Batgirl right? Rumour had it that you were out of commission."

The sarcasm was apparently a permanent fixture, "Because you look like a wealth of pertinent information."

"This Batgirl," Diana noticed Batman's eyes narrow, "is the second incarnation. The first now works as Oracle."

Batgirl readjusted her cowl as though it didn't fit quite right, "Plus she had red hair, it was the first thing anyone noticed." She fingered her own ebony locks absently, "Can I run the tests now?" She didn't wait for an answer and pulled a thick leather bag under the cape and off her back.

Pulling something out of it she walked over to Superman and J'onn and began scanning them with only a, "Hold still" for explanation. She then moved onto Diana and Batman, then the trio.

Flash had to ask, "What are you doing?"

She shot him a look that clearly said 'shut your mouth', "Shooting them full of gamma radiation in hopes that they'll mutate and get superpowers."

"fMRI, x-ray, a couple of other things" oddly enough, Batman was seeming nice, "checking the effects of blood flow, structural integrity."

Silence resumed until, "So, uh, Batgirl," Flash was trying, "do you want to tell us who Batman is?"

"Only slightly less then I want the Joker to hang me with my own large intestine as the noose from the top of Gotham tower." She deadpanned.

There was no way to respond to a comment like that.

She took hair, skin and spit samples. Frowned at J'onn and Superman for a while before coating their 'intersection points' in a purple foam, entrenched Batman and Wonder Woman's hand in some kind of gel, gave Batman a small smirk and then pulled out a needle and started taking blood.

Superman stopped her, "that isn't going to work on me."

"Not yet," she didn't seem concerned.

Batman reached for his utility belt, "Brace yourself Superman," a piece of Kryptonite came into view and the Man of Steel staggered. Batgirl was right there, getting the blood she needed, the Kryptonite slipping back into its lead lined pouch.

"That was uncalled for," Superman said, "you could have just asked."

She didn't even blink at him, "It wouldn't have made a difference to the final effect."

"But it's polite," Superman grumbled slightly. He'd already been made aware that Batman carried Kryptonite but that didn't mean he needed to be reminded of the fact.

She turned back to the bag and deposited her samples. In doing so she _accidently_ hit Batman off the arm of Wonder Woman's chair and into her lap. Batman was up and standing in an instant but a pretty blush decorated both their faces. If one could get around the glare that Batman was sending her.

She ignored him, "I'll be back later."

"With results?" John asked hopefully, wisely ignoring Diana and Batman.

She didn't stop on her way to the window, "No, with ten crates of yellow bananas."

Batgirl hopped out of the window and disappeared.

* * *

><p>Superman waited until he could hear the motorcycle pull away, "Well, she seems um sunny."<p>

"She makes you look like a charmer Bats," Flash put in casually, unaware of the straightening of Batman's spine.

John shook his head, "The sarcasm was a little much. There's disciplined, brooding and effective, and then there's rude."

"Uh GL," Flash said, "I think we should stop." Batman was standing, a couple of batarangs had appeared in his fingers and despite the cowl there was a dangerous glint in his eye.

Shayara intercepted, "As long as she gets the tests done right I don't care what she says. Besides, you goody-two-shoes boys don't understand the joys of sarcasm."

Superman stood up, "I'm not feeling so great after that Kryptonite." If the Kryptonian could sound accusing, this was the moment, "If you have no problem with it J'onn I think we should head out to the back grounds for some sunlight." The two floated away.

Flash had gone back to his earlier fixation, "Can we just look at the pool?"

"No," John said.

Shayara said simultaneously, "fine, but I promise nothing." Two on one, they headed out to wander the Manor, Flash taking the platter of sandwiches with him.

Diana removed the still present batarangs from Batmans' fingers and turning his palm upwards, placed them gently in his hand, "She's relatively new to what you do, isn't she?"

"Fairly," Batman acknowledged, and then his eyes narrowed, "what makes you say that?"

She shrugged slightly, "Just your general reaction to her presence, perhaps more protective then I'd imagine if she had experience." He didn't respond. She continued as if he had, "So, in the meantime what would you like to do?"

"Nothing that I can do in this current situation," he was blunt.

Diana nodded slightly; she had known him long enough to know that not directly working on a solution was hard for him. She tentatively offered a solution, "If you must go to the famed Batcave you could always blindfold me until we get there."

He seemed taken aback, as though he hadn't considered that she would allow herself to be blindfolded and lead around. She had to agree that normally that situation would be abhorrent to her but this was hardly a normal situation. He responded at last, "I appreciate the offer Princess but at current it's best if I," he seemed to have trouble uttering the phrase, "let the others run the tests. I can do nothing to speed up a centrifuge or gel electrophoresis."

She squeezed his hand, "So," she repeated with a smile, "what would you like to do? We might as well make the best of this 'time off'."

He answered quickly, "Anything, as long as it's far away from Flash."

"Then let's take a look around," she pulled him out the door, "quick before he comes back."

He actually chuckled.

* * *

><p>The camera's caught Nightwing's motorcycle pulled up at Oracles hideout. Batgirl waltzed in the door a moment later, the spring in her step a far cry from the skulk Barbara had seen her adopt in the Manor.<p>

"Welcome back," Oracle called, immediately closing the screens she'd been looking at and replacing it with her other two main case, Lex Luthor's president bid and the League murder-attempts, "Did you get everything running?"

Batgirl pulled off the gloves and flexed her fingers, "Yupp, I circled back around and entered the Cave through the waterfall. All the tests are running, the first one shouldn't be done for another four hours and the microscopes are set to slice and take pictures."

"Did you remember to set the electron microscope too?" Oracle turned the wheelchair away from the computer.

Batgirl scowled, "Of course I did," the boots came off, "you've got tiny feet. If I've got to wear this thing anymore I'm never going to be able to uncurl my toes."

The electric wheelchair stopped in front of her, "I'm more worried about the cowl." Oracle looked at her over the top of her glasses, "It keeps sliding around and the eye-covering we added in could probably use a second bout of glue. I'm surprised the League didn't notice how ill-fitting this whole costume is."

"I'd say we're lucky how well it did fit, all things considered." Batgirl started tugging on the cowl, "Although I don't understand how this yellow is supposed to be stealthy." The cowl finally popped off and Barbara took it. The current Batgirl immediately shook her head around, the bits of fabric they'd used to make the Barbara's old cowl fit, falling to the ground.

The black hair flipped backwards to reveal the smiling face of Kayla Wayne sans glasses, "Please tell me you got it?"

Barbara knew immediately what she was talking about and smirked, "A thousand frames a second."

"Barbara, Kayla, ten thousand points!" Kayla's grin widened, "Did you see those blushes? It was as bad as a couple of high school kids who accidently touched feet under a desk and are afraid that they just played footsies."

Barbara's grin matched hers, "It was adorable. I can't believe you got him off balance like that, he doesn't usually move when you shove him."

Kayla shrugged, "He probably wasn't expecting me to be so gutsy. But I figured that Batgirl is a sarcastic jerk anyways so why not?"

"Yeah that was an interesting touch," Barbara said, raising an eyebrow.

The shrug returned, "I thought about just being a mini-Batman but this gives me more of my own identity. Besides Kayla Wayne never gets to use sarcasm, and I don't want my sarcasm muscle to shrivel up on me."

"It's just as effective as Batman's one word rudeness," Barbara reassured her, "they both achieve the same general goal. It just lets you be a little more loquacious, and vicious." She added after a pause.

"My Batgirl doesn't care if people like her or not." Kayla reminded her, "you were always too nice."

"We were all nice," Oracle protested, "it was just Batman who acted like a jerk. Dick couldn't stop cracking jokes." Barbara consulted her watch, "how long until Kayla Wayne needs to make a reappearance?"

"Couple of hours, I'm going to have to take the Batsuit and motorcycle with me for when I get the results, and fix my hair. Claiming I've got a party to go to should get me out of the Manor a second time." Kayla said.

Barbara smiled, "Want to help me find the perfect Bruce sitting on Wonder Woman's lap picture?"

"Duh!" Kayla said, "and then email it to every superhero we know?"

Barbara smiled but she couldn't help but be distracted by Kayla's appearance. Without the glasses, with the dark hair, with the cape swirling about her shoulders, with the smirk, with the laugh at the pictures, with the way she bit her lip while thinking, with the Bat almost glowing on her chest, Barbara had never seen her look more like her parents, both of them.

* * *

><p><strong>Props to CrazyRenegade for guessing Kayla in a Batgirl costume. And I wasn't originally going to put Zatanna in but I didn't want to waste time having Batgirl poke around the bomb site. <strong>

**This plot point will be wrapping up very soon and we'll move on.**

**And really, who wouldn't want a semi-embarrassing photo of Batman sitting on Wonder Woman's lap?**


	20. Team Batman

He wasn't sure how it had happened. This was a disconcerting thought, he was The Batman, and he was supposed to know how everything happened. Also, he wasn't supposed to be okay with it, he should have put an end to this the second it started, he should an end to it _right now_ but he just turned the page of his book, being very careful not to jostle the person inexplicably resting on his shoulder.

In their/his efforts to avoid Flash they had ended up in the one place both of them knew that the Speedster would never voluntarily go, the library. Pretending that he didn't know the way around his own house and that he had no clue as to how Bruce Wayne organized his library he had let Diana take the lead. She had, naturally, taken them straight to the Ancient Greek section and grabbed a book of ancient poems. Although he applauded her choice he had gone more conservative, a couple of texts in Latin that he had been meaning to read but hadn't had the time for. She'd raised an eyebrow but hadn't commented.

With their hands still attached they'd had no choice but to sit on the couch facing the library's garden window. He had settled on the edge, she in the middle. It was pleasant enough; he wasn't often forced to take a break. And she didn't natter incessantly, he couldn't imagine if he'd been stuck with Flash or Superman.

Then it had happened, he had been in the middle of translating a particularly difficult passage when she'd absently shifted slightly, brow still furrowed at what she was reading. And all of a sudden her feet were up on the couch, she'd curled into a little ball with the book balanced on her knees, leaning onto his arm with her head slightly on his shoulder. Their joined hands still between them.

He hadn't read a thing since.

* * *

><p>She'd realized the moment she'd done it. It had been an unconscious movement, she was just getting more comfortable on the couch, totally engrossed in her book. It was the same position she read in when she was in her room on the Watchtower, curled up against a large collection of pillows. It had taken about four seconds for her to realize that she wasn't curled up against pillows but against the muscled, warm mass that was Batman. She'd frozen. She was still frozen and completely unsure as to why she hadn't moved. It would be easy. She could just get up. She could stretch and slide away. She could claim she could hear Flash coming. Anything, but she didn't, because he didn't.<p>

Then it had happened. He was nonchalantly reading his book, had just flipped the page, when _he_ shifted slightly. It wasn't much, a slight shimmy, a casual drop of one shoulder, small readjustments of his posture and suddenly her head was fully on his shoulder and she was more comfortable then she'd been in a long time. Plus he was warm, despite being nearly invulnerable growing up on a tropic island had left her with a constant desire for heat. Her room was full of various blankets and sweaters, none of which anyone else saw mind you. But Batman was warm, the man seemed to radiate heat and that was the deciding factor.

She wasn't moving until he did.

* * *

><p>The time passed in silence. It wasn't the kind of silence that made the world feel uncomfortable but the kind of silence that is a balm to the soul, it refreshes and invites perspective. The sun dipped slowly across the sky, beautiful but a constant reminder that this time was fleeting, precious, a single moment in existence.<p>

As was his gift, it was Flash that broke their silence, his voice echoing down the hallways of the mansion, "Bats? Di? Where are you at?"

The Knight and Princess met each other's eyes for the first time since they'd sat down as she tilted her head back to look at him and said, "What are the chances that he won't look in here?"

"He won't," Batman grunted, "But Shayara will." They'd been sitting in their uniforms and the dirt and sweat from the earlier battle all afternoon and she still smelled like peaches. It was disconcerting.

Diana stretched contentedly, "So where are we hiding?"

"Pardon?" Batman seemed legitimately confused. It was too out of character for her to actually avoid her teammates.

She smirked at him, "When people look for you they rarely _find_ you. You just sort of pop out of the woodwork when we start talking about you. So, where are we hiding?"

He smirked back, "Come on."

The door to the library swung open, "I'm just saying," Flash was gesturing wildly, "when you're in the home of a billionaire you don't spend time in the library. This is a waste of time."

"Maybe you don't spend time in the library," Shayara looked like she was at her wits end, "but this is _Batman_, can you see him playing video games?" Diana looked closer and had to stuff a laugh back down her throat. She squeezed Batman's hand knowing he'd understand her mirth, even if he didn't appreciate it.

They were all wearing grey t-shirts with black bats across the chest. Diana was curious as to why but she stopped caring the minute she caught a glimpse of their backs. Emblazoned in capital letters across their backs were the words 'TEAM BATMAN' with smaller letters underneath that Diana couldn't quite make out.

"Gotta feel bad for Diana though," Flash was saying, "I mean come on, stuck to Batman for who knows how long? The guy's a great detective, scary as crap, glad he's on our side but in terms of conversation and just hanging out? Not so much."

"Just be thankful it's not you," John said shining his ring around the library, "If anyone can handle Batman its Wonder Woman. If he gives her any crap at least she'll give it right back to him."

"They're a powder keg," Shayara added, "I'm surprised we haven't heard them screaming at each other yet. Just be thankful that Wayne isn't here."

"I thought you didn't hate him anymore?" Flash asked, tilted his head sideways to look at an abstract painting on the wall.

Shayara responded by pulling him farther, "I don't. But mark my words, Wayne would have spent the entire time flirting with Diana and Batman would get all…" she couldn't quite find the word.

John supplied it, "bristled."

"Oh come on," Flash objected, "Bats is always bristly, you make it sound like Diana is special or something." Now Diana was curious again. Batman made to move into the light but she forcibly stopped him, wanting to hear what their teammates had to say. He didn't look pleased, but he didn't speak up either.

Shayara shrugged, "I just follow the evidence. Come on Flash, Diana gets more words out of Batman then anybody and he's more likely to pop up when she's around."

"Coincidence," Flash said, "maybe she's only around when important things are happening. Besides Bats always just yells at her or tells her to do better or to stop slacking off."

"That's grade school crush 101," John reminded him, "Come on, you grew up here. You don't remember picking on the girl that you liked? But then getting protective if anyone else did it?"

"Uh I guess," Flash admitted, "still I don't buy it. Bats is too 'not human', trust me if anyone could not notice Wondy's hotness it's him."

"Ten bucks says you're wrong," John challenged.

Flash agreed, "Deal! Ok come on, they're obviously not here. Not-Jeeves is going to be upset if we don't tell them that he's got dinner for them." They exited the room.

Batman and Diana dropped to the carpet from where they'd been perching on a bookcase.

She couldn't resist, "So many options, do I talk about the t-shirts, the 'bristly' comment, the school boy crush or you not noticing my hotness?"

"You'll talk about whatever pleases you, regardless of my opinion," he said darkly, "I want dinner."

* * *

><p>Alfred was enjoying this. Despite years of training he had to forcibly hold his smile in check when Batman came through the door of the kitchen, hand in hand with Wonder Woman and bickering. Master Bruce only bickered with people he thought were worth his time, anyone else was summarily ignored or defeated in a sentence. The only thing tempering his joy was that Master Bruce continued to persist in his charade.<p>

Still he was a good butler, he wasn't going to be the one to blow the whistle, "Your Highness, Master," Alfred knew that he'd temporarily stopped Bruce's heart, "Batman, welcome. If you're interested I have dinner set aside for you." He didn't wait for a response but instead slide two plates out of the oven and onto the table.

"Thank you Alfred," Diana smiled like a shark, "Alfred, I believe Bruce once told me that you're an expert in manners?"

The butler poured them water, "Well Your Highness, although I do have British training which is more comprehensive then the American system," he sniffed the words, "I would hardly call myself an expert. Still if I can assist you at all, I'd be happy to try."

"When a lady asks a man a question, is he or is he not obligated to answer her both immediately and truthfully?" Diana asked him, watching Batman out of the corner of her eye.

Alfred nodded immediately, "Indeed Miss it is, especially if the lady in question is royalty. I've found truth to be important in every situation." Alfred eyed his charge.

Batman ignored them both, choosing instead to dig into the plate of food before him.

Diana was not to be deterred, "Well there you go Batman, you have to answer the question. Do you, or do you not, find me attractive?"

Alfred's face twitched, luckily Diana was so focused on Batman and Batman so focused on his food that both missed it. He might have felt sorry for Bruce if his charge hadn't repeatedly mentioned that he could get out of _any_ situation, Alfred looked forward to seeing him evade this one.

Batman didn't look up, "Empirically speaking I would have to, you've been voted People Magazine's most attractive woman every year since you got here." He shoved more food into his mouth to avoid having to say more.

"I didn't ask about empirically speaking," Diana said clearly getting her ire up, "I asked if you Batman, personally think I'm attractive."

"You're a trusted colleague; I don't have time to pursue thoughts like that…" he began.

She cut him off, "You're hedging. I'll make it simple. Am I attractive to you, yes or no?"

The cowled eyes finally lifted off the plate and met hers, Alfred held his breath.

"Don't answer that," Superman's voice answered the kitchen, "Lois asked me that once. It was a trap, there was no right answer. You say yes and she goes on about how you only like her for her body. You say no and she's insulted and you'll hear about from here to kingdom come."

Superman and J'onn entered the kitchen, "Diana what are you doing to poor Batman?" J'onn asked, "his thoughts are panicked." J'onn received a Batglare for his comment.

"Reeeeeeally?" Diana's eyes glinted.

Batman's voice was gruff, "Nice shirt boy scout." Superman too was wearing a Batman shirt with a hole cut into it to accommodate J'onn's head.

The man of steel grinned, "I thought you might like them. Kayla brought them back with her. She said something about 'when in Gotham'." Superman shrugged, "after Flash sent us all flying into the pool anything was better than wet uniforms."

"Told you it was a good idea to avoid Flash," Batman said softly.

Kayla Wayne sauntered into the kitchen, "Alfred, have you seen my gold bag? The sparkly one that matches these shoes? I like need to get going or I'm going to be more then fashionably late."

"I believe Miss Kayla," Alfred said, "I saw something of the sort in the drawing room."

"Ah right," she mused. Then, "Batman, Wonder Woman! Hey! Do you like the shirts? I've got some for you too; they're like in the living room." She turned to Superman, "did he see the back yet? They've all got different sayings on the back. Some guy was selling them on like the street corner and I couldn't resist. Plus now, he can like buy dinner." Kayla grinned.

"The limo will be here in two minutes," Alfred reminded her.

She readjusted her mini skirt, "Right. I'm going. See you all!"

"So," Diana had to ask, "What does the back of your shirt say?"

Superman grinned slightly, "Well she certainly has a sense of humour." Turning around the words **TEAM BATMAN** glared at them and underneath in smaller letters, **SUPERMAN WISHES HE WAS THIS COOL**. A choking sound came from Batman; with a touch of her superspeed Diana was just able to catch a smile on Batman's face. She squeezed his hand. It didn't feel as odd as it had before.

Superman must have caught the smile too as he was quick to corral the other Leaguers.

Flash's back had, **TEAM BATMAN – THE BATGLARE _IS_ A SUPERPOWER**

Shayara, **TEAM BATMAN – ASSKICKING EXPERTS**

John, **TEAM BATMAN – IMMORTAL, DEATH HAS FEARS TOO…**

J'onn had been given a shirt too, although he wasn't wearing it, **TEAM BATMAN - TOO GOOD FOR SUPERPOWERS**

Flash tossed them each a shirt, "Here these are for you guys. We chose who gets what based on personality…" His smile widened then dropped slightly, as he hid behind Shayara.

Diana flipped hers over on the table, **TEAM BATMAN – BECAUSE THE BEST MEN ARE TALL, DARK AND SCARY**. Shayara was waiting to catch her eye and winked. Diana shook her head.

Craning her neck she caught sight of Batman's shirt, **TEAM BATMAN – INSPIRING THE NIGHTMARES OF A GENERATIO**N. He however, wasn't looking at the shirt but was gazing hard at the kitchen window, conflict written clearly on his face. There, shining in the night sky was the batsignal, waiting for its hero to answer its call.

The others caught on soon. "Uh oh," It was Flash of course, "what are you gonna do Bats?"

He didn't reply, just stared at the sky with his jaw clenched.

Superman tried to reassure him, "I'm sure Batgirl will have the situation under control."

Batman's head whipped around as though the thought had just occurred to him. He stood and growled, "I'm going." Diana had no choice but to stumble after him.

"This is inadvisable," J'onn said, "based on our current condition…"

"I don't care," Batman didn't break stride, "It's my city. Do you have a problem with this Princess?"

From his tone Diana knew that if she did have a problem with it the solution would be for him to knock her unconscious and go anyway. She took to the sky and hoisted him up to her level, "Not at all." They were out the door before anyone else could object.

* * *

><p>Diana was understandably curious; none of the League had ever worked with Batman in his city before. They landed on the top of the police building; the Commissioner was waiting for them.<p>

"Batman," Gordon said, "thought you weren't coming. And you uh brought Wonder Woman." He was trying not to blatantly stare at the fact that they were holding hands.

Batman cut off his curiosity, "The fight in Gotham this morning was unusual, for the moment we're a package deal."

"Nice to meet you," Wonder Woman said

"Likewise," Gordon was wise enough to not press the topic, "I just wish it was better circumstances. The Joker got out."

Batman tensed, "From Arkham. Anyone else?"

"Just Harley Quinn. Someone was coming right for them, knew exactly where they were. The walls to just their cells were blown with precision blasts and they were gone before the dust cloud had even cleared. Not one camera or guard caught a single thing coming or going." The Commissioner cut right to the summary. He passed Batman an envelope, "Copies of the crime scene photos, some bomb residue but I don't think it's going to tell us much. There was a case just like this in…"

"Metropolis, I know." Batman tucked the envelope into the depths of his cape, "Someone broke out Metallo with the same methodology. I've already linked that to the Belle Reve escape, same bombs used."

Gordon lit a cigarette, the wind blowing the smoke away, "So we're looking for a cross-city guy who's willing to work with the Joker? Most of these supervillians stay away from Gotham's crazies." They were already gone and Gordon was talking to the wind. He wasn't perturbed, "Keep me posted," then he mumbled softer, "lucky dog, gets stuck to Wonder Woman."

* * *

><p>Batman spent the next couple of hours digging through the rubble at Arkham, terrorizing it's guards and doing what Diana had privately dubbed 'detective-things-that-I'm-not-explaining'.<p>

Wonder Woman spent the next couple of hours lifting heavy boulders, getting catcalled by the inmates, stared at by the guards and watching Batman do his detective thing.

She was more than thankful when it was time for them to go. Leading them away from the prison and back into the shadows Batman said, "I need to go to the Cave."

She rolled her shoulders, "You're actually warning me? No unanticipated knockout gas or punch to the back of the head?" He didn't respond, just put a hand to the side of cowl. He'd been corresponding with someone all night.

"She's sure Oracle?" Batman asked. Then nodded, "No, it makes sense. Alright patch us over." The next second Diana felt the familiar sensation that accompanied the League teleporters and the BatCave appeared before her.

Diana's eyes widened, then narrowed, "Not that I'm complaining Batman but I thought we weren't supposed to use the teleporters in our current condition?"

"Batgirl's verified the source of the problem, because of our limited attachment there was an extremely low probability of any adverse effects." He made his way over to one of the largest computers Wonder Woman had ever seen, "Batgirl," he barked, his voice ringing out in the expanse of the cave.

Diana wasn't sure what she'd been expecting but it wasn't this. The cave was huge, relatively well lit, cleaner than it should have been for all the bats on the ceiling. There were multiple levels, one housing a variety of Batmobiles and Batplanes. Another seemed to contain a variety of costumes in glass cases, Diana was a little confused to see a giant penny and a t-rex. One level appeared to house both a full medical facility and a laboratory. It also housed one of the best gyms she'd ever seen, complete with full gymnastic set-up. If she wasn't mistaken there was a complete virtual reality center as well, and that was only what she could see at a quick glance.

"This is," she fought for the right word, "impressive, Batman."

He grunted, staring intently at the computer but not touching it. A figure with a yellow cape dropped in front of them from a higher level, "I was working on a cure." Batgirl said.

"Oracle said you'd figured it out," Batman said, both a statement and a question.

She nodded, "I dropped by the Manor, didn't bother explaining the science, just told them that I should have them out of this by lunch tomorrow. In reality it was caused by an overstimulation of nuclear laminins."

Batman nodded, although this made no sense to Diana. He motioned to the BatComputer "I need you to update my files with this," he threw Gordon's notes to her, "and then take my dictation. I can't type fast enough with one hand."

She nodded and took a seat at the computer. Diana took a chance, "Nuclear laminins?"

Batgirl was apparently in a better mood then before, "Cell adhesion molecules, three alpha chains held together in the shape of a cross. They literally hold your body together, typically attaching the extracellular matrix to the basal lamina. They're in all your cells. The mixture in the bomb caused them to become overstimulated and adhering to any nearby cells that they could find. Thus skin on skin contact results in sticking."

Diana wasn't sure how long they spent in the Cave as there didn't seem to be any clocks. Occasionally Batgirl would dart off, saying something about a centrifuge and then return to continue taking Batman's orders. Diana felt sorry for her, the man was relentless in his pursuit of the Joker, having her pull up hundreds of cameras, video files and other seemingly unrelated items.

Although it was fascinating to watch them work Diana was getting antsy. She ended up doing one armed pull-ups off of a nearby support beam. Batman either felt like-wise or wanted to show her up because he started doing the same, only instead of a support beam he was using her arm. It's not like she couldn't handle the weight.

Finally Batman let them all go to bed.

Even Batgirl sounded tired, "Alright, into the teleporter and I'll send you back to the Manor."

Batman's comment surprised Diana, "Make sure you get some sleep."

Batgirl nodded once, "I've got to test the pH in twenty but I should be able to catch about an hour before the Rovotrap and distillation, then twenty minutes until the sep' funnel." She pressed a button on the console and they were back in the Manor's foyer.

* * *

><p>Alfred had given them all rooms when they'd first arrived at the Manor. Diana thought that theirs looked suspiciously like the master bedroom but Alfred had insisted that they use it anyway. Batman didn't seem to have any problem with using Bruce Wayne's room so Diana didn't comment.<p>

There was a note taped to a lamp

_- Batman, Star Labs radioed about two bodies that they want the League to look into from Metropolis. It sounded urgent. Let me know if you're interested, otherwise I'll scan them myself tomorrow afternoon. – Superman._

Batman slipped the note into his belt. Neither seemed to quite know what to do, Diana at least was exhausted but she didn't know how to approach the situation either. Finally she thought of an opening, "You're really going to sleep in the uniform?" she asked, "Kevlar and bullet plates are not typical sleepwear."

He didn't sound tired at all, he was used to late hours, "And you're sleeping in your armour? That metal breastplate hardly looks comfortable…" he trailed off and she fought the urge to cross her arms.

She shrugged with fake air of nonchalance, "I don't have any other options. You could at least take off the top, cape and belt."

He almost smiled ruefully, "I appreciate the sentiment Princess, but after almost fourteen hours straight in the suit including battle and digging through crime scenes without the suit's filters I'd hardly smell like a basket of roses."

"I know," she agreed, "I'd love a shower but..." she shrugged, the reason obvious.

He paused, she recognized the look. It was the kind that she usually saw in battle, the kind that meant he'd just come up with a risky but ultimately successful plan. Batman crossed to Wayne's closet and rummaged through it until he came up with a huge black t-shirt and two pairs of gym shorts. Diana wasn't even sure why the shirt was there, the thing was double the size of Bruce Wayne and resembled a small tent.

He paused again, "You really want a shower?"

Diana bit her lip, "Yes…" she said hesitantly.

He ripped one of the sleeves off and tossed her the shirt "Put that on over your uniform." She did so and then he continued in a tone that would have seemed bashful if she didn't know better. "Oracle use to do this when she was Batgirl and we didn't have anywhere to change. You just," she could have sworn he was blushing, "take the uniform off under the shirt. It covers everything, then pull the gym shorts on and shower in the lighter outfit. When you're done pull another shirt and shorts on underneath again and you're good to go."

It made sense to her. Yes it was slightly embarrassing but she wanted a shower, he wasn't going to _see_ anything and by the gods, she was an Amazon. She shouldn't get embarrassed. "What about you?" she asked.

"I wear a high tech fabric bottom under the suit," he told her bluntly, "they should suffice."

She grinned to hide her embarrassment that they were discussing his underwear, "you would make high tech boxers."

They changed quickly despite the awkwardness of the situation and the fact that they each only had one hand. They avoided eye contact at all costs.

Stepping into the shower Batman had never been more thankful that Bruce Wayne was the kind of overdone billionaire who needed two separate shower heads in one giant shower. He may have exceptional willpower but the thought of Wonder Woman in nothing but a wet t-shirt and gym shorts was a lot even for him. He kept his eyes on the wall.

Wonder Woman broke the awkward silence, "Could you um, pass the shampoo?"

He did so and thirty seconds later she had collapsed against the shower wall.

Alarmed he reached out after her, "Diana?"

She was laughing, gut-wrenching, pain-inducing laughter. He suspected tears were running down her cheeks but the shower prevented him from being certain. He tried again, "Diana?" He focused on her face.

"Ssssorry," she barely managed to get out, "It's just that this whole thing is so ridiculous. I mean we're stuck together yes but even more than that. I'm taking a shower _with The Batman._ The Batman just passed me shampoo. I mean, you're wearing the cowl in the shower. I've seen The Batman's boxers and they have tiny grey bats on them. It's just," she covered her face with her hands, "a little bit surreal."

There were many ways he could handle this. He chickened out, "You're clearly exhausted." She'd also managed to get the shampoo in her hair but hadn't managed to rinse it all out. A strand of soap started weaving its way down her face, the bravery returned, "besides I'm currently the envy of all males and many females everywhere," he boasted, trying to shock her back to alertness, "I'm taking a shower with Wonder Woman. Now get up." He ended up lifted her to her feet.

"Ow," she complained.

"What?" he was slightly alarmed that he'd hurt her.

She grinned the kind of smile that is normally reserved for the drunk, "Soap in my eye."

He raised an eyebrow, "You take metahuman punches and complain about getting soap in your eyes."

"It stiiiiiiings," she almost sounded like she was whining, that was new.

He was practical, "so wash it out."

"I'm tiiiiiiiiired Batman." She rested her head on the shower wall, "I've got a lot of hair and only free hand. Help me?"

And he did. The Batman could never be called a coward. He got the shampoo out of her hair, cleaned the sweat off himself in record time, shut off the water and threw a towel in her face. Five minutes later they were in the Team Batman shirts and gym shorts, Batman of course had the cowl as well, but no cape.

The whole getting into bed bit could have been awkward except that Wonder Woman was pretty much asleep on her feet and he had no choice but to pick her up and drop her on the bed. Crawling in beside her and being very careful not to touch anything that wasn't already stuck to his hand, Batman realized that he had just had the oddest day of his life. And with his particular life, that was saying something.

* * *

><p><strong>Nuclear laminins, amazing stuff - seriously you should go google that jazz (fibronectin too, it does the same thing). As far as I know all of the science is more or less sound so feel bad for Batgirl, if you've never used a Rovotrap or done a distillation it takes a long time and is really boring.<strong>

**I finally wrote an actual BMWW chapter so I'm feeling fairly proud of myself, thanks for slogging through all 4500 words with me!**

**And personally I think that the shower scene is one of my favourite parts so far, every time I picture it I get a bad case of the giggles; although the TEAM BATMAN shirts were pretty fun too...**


	21. Giant Tree Frogs

In that moment of sleepy consciousness between dreams and waking Wonder Woman had only one coherent thought, she was blessedly, beautifully warm. There was some kind of heat source radiating directly onto her back. She instinctively slipped back towards it, and found herself in the embrace of a man. Warrior training took over and she leapt upward intent on pummelling whoever had dared to share her bed.

She landed on top of the offending human, pinning them to the bed and punching them once upside the jaw before her conscious thought kicked in.

"Diana," the male voice rumbled beneath her as her eyes finally took in the cowl.

She jumped off of him, "Batman…" A pretty blush coloured her cheeks as she plopped back onto the bed beside him.

He put his free hand to his jaw and cracked it softly back into place, "Good morning to you too Princess."

"Batman," she tried to apologize, "I'm sorry. When I moved back and felt someone behind me,"

"Instinct took over," he filled in for her, "understandable after hundreds of years of man-hating lessons."

Normally she would have angrily corrected his comment but after slugging him in the jaw she felt that would be a little extreme, "Not man-hating, just mistrust. And a healthy sense of skepticism. The hate is reserved for the idea that any man is better than his female counterpart."

He started his typical morning stretches, "I would have hoped that after a few years in Man's world that your opinion might have shifted slightly. The world is not as your mother knew it."

She watched him warily. She was both impressed with his level of flexibility and surprised that he would mention her mother. Since her exile her teammates had been careful to avoid any reference to Themyscira, with the sole exception being Batman's continued insistence on calling her Princess.

"The world has changed since my mother knew it," she acquiesced, "and I would freely admit that men are not entirely useless." Her eyes smiled at him, "I would also say that perhaps the Amazons have been harsh in their assessment of Man's World and that it was naïve of me to assume the world was evil based only on the word of those I knew."

He twisted to stretch out his back and she accommodated the movement by shuffling slightly, "Well I'm glad to see the Princess has learned a valuable lesson." He met her eyes as he looked up at her.

"And that would be?" she asked.

Batman flipped slightly to put all of his weight onto the palms of his hands, grunting slightly under the weight, "That you shouldn't knock it until you try it."

His words brought back the memory of when Shayara had said the same words, albeit without Shayara's saucy, sexual implication. She immediately squashed the Shayara version in her head who was so kindly pointing out all of Batman's attractive features: his courage, his mystery, his determination, his challenge, his body…. She squashed it again. Sleeping next to, accidently straddling, and punching him was more than enough 'trying it' to last a lifetime.

* * *

><p>"Wondy, Bats, morning!" Flash greeted them in the kitchen, "Have some breakfast! The butler makes the world's best pancakes."<p>

"Better move fast though," John added, "Flash is living up to his name."

Superman did a double take when he saw the pair, "What kind of trouble did you two get into last night?" He asked upon noting Batman's jaw. It was already beginning to swell and had taken on a distinctive purple hue.

Diana's blush returned and she shuffled uncomfortably.

Shayara pounced, "While I'm sure that Superman was talking about patrol I'd _love_ to know the secret behind the blush Diana."

The Amazon met her friend's eyes which were twinkling. Then Shayara mouthed the words, 'you took a shower' and winked. Diana's blush deepened at the Thanagarian detective's insinuation.

Surprisingly the save came from Batman, "Wonder Woman felt that it was prudent to awaken me with a shot to the jaw." He seemed nonchalant as he dug into the bowl of oatmeal that Alfred had procured.

"Really?" Flash looked excited, "You punched Batman Di? Wow your hard-core level just skyrocketed. Sorry Shy but you've been demoted to third most badass." The Thanagarian was too busy raising her eyebrows skeptically at the innocent Amazon to care.

"Perhaps Batman should be most thankful that Diana maintained control of her strength," was J'onn's input, "A few bruises are substantially better than a shattered jawbone."

Alfred produced another round of pancakes which Flash ate with such gusto that Shayara was caught in the splash zone.

She sighed deeply and asked testily, "How much longer until we get out of this?"

"Patience Shayara," J'onn said, "It would be worse if Batgirl hurried and made an error would it not?"

Despite agreeing she didn't want to dignify him with a response. She tensed her shoulder and John started rubbing small circles on her back, kneading out the ever present knots. Normally she wouldn't have let anyone touch her but… this one time she was willing to make an exception.

A car door slammed outside. "Uh Alfred," Superman asked, "Are you expecting someone?"

The butler's brow was furrowed, "Not explicitly sir." The butler went to check the door and the heroes held their breath unsure of the nature of the unexpected guest.

Alfred returned to the kitchen, "Not to worry Sirs, Miss, May I introduce the youngest member of the Wayne family, Master Timothy."

The boy appeared to be about sixteen, black messy hair and a wide smile as he took in the scene before him, "Adopted son actually, only Kayla actually has the Wayne bloodline. Wow Alfred, if I'd known that the Justice League comes to visit whenever I go out of town I would come home early more often." He smile was easy going and he casually took a seat at the breakfast table and snagged chocolate chip pancakes off of Flash's plate as though odd things like this happened all of the time, "So why are you here?"

The League wasn't sure what to tell the boy but Alfred stepped in, "Master Bruce was kind enough to offer the League hospitality while they work on a case."

"Mmmhmmmm," Tim said around a mouthful of pancake, "love the shirts by the way." He said with a chuckle, "I've got to get one of those."

"Your sister picked them up," Diana told him.

Tim nodded, "Yeah, that I believe," his grin was wry, "so where is she at? Kayla's usually up at the crack of dawn."

"Actually Miss Kayla has yet to return from her nightly activities," Alfred told him. Batman's hand twitched slightly under Diana's.

Tim's face dropped instantly into something darker, "What? She's not back? She's been out all night?" He twitched slightly, "I need to go look for her."

Alfred shook his head, "She's perfectly fine sir, well as fine as she can be," Alfred amended, "I received this lovely message from her at 3:30 this morning." The butler pressed play on a nearby answering machine,

"Allllllllllllfredo, heyyyyyyy, itsh Kayla! Bet you couldn't have guesshed that! Anywaysh I'm calling on the teleyphony becaushe I don't want you to worry. Becaushe you worry a lot! You need to watch that, you coulda get an usher…. Noooooo….. ulcer. Yeah that, don't get that, that would be bad. Anywaysh I'm going to be partizzling all night caushe I'm the shmokestack! I won't do shtupid things. I'll probabaly be shtaying at Starr's place caushe we're gonna crash there. I'll be back in the morning." There was a squeal in the background then Kayla's voice returned, "There are giant tree frogsh Alfredo! Gots to go! Lots'o'Love!" BEEP.

Flash was snickering at the message.

Tim shook his head, "Giant tree frogs? Where was she?" He shoved the last pancake into his mouth, "I'm going to pop over to Starr's and pick her up. Despite her apparent inability to get hangovers I still don't think she should be driving."

Superman stopped the boy, "That won't be necessary; I can hear her from here. She's coming up the drive."

They made their way to the lobby, all curious. True to form Kayla Wayne stumbled into the foyer a moment later, "Heyyyyy all." She tripped on the rug and Tim grabbed her, "Little bro man! You're home."

"And you're still drunk," he told her with a small grin, "It's nine in the morning."

She tried to shrug but ended up moving her whole body, "Party hard or don't party at all."

Tim's eyes apologized to the League, "Let's get you upstairs and put you to bed."

She yawned, "but I'm not tired."

"Of course you're not." Tim said, leading her out of the room.

He re-emerged ten minutes later, "Anyone want to play?" He held up an X-box controller.

"Ooooooo me! Me! Me!" Flash said quickly.

Tim tossed him a control then produced three more, "its four player" he said with a grin.

* * *

><p>Diana had quickly gone from, "I don't understand the purpose of this game," to "May all of the gods on Olympus rain vengeance on you for knocking my small animated character off of a virtual cliff." Due to her lack of hands she had summarily forced Batman to work with her.<p>

In the four player combat game they'd quickly slipped into a rotation where the loser was replaced with a bystander. This round Superman, Tim, Green Lantern and Batman and Wonder Woman all had controllers. It wasn't pretty.

Flash was moping because of the 'no superspeed' rule. Shayara was spitting fire at the fact that she couldn't seem to get the hang of the game and keep running herself off of the stage. J'onn was strangely sage about the whole thing, choosing instead to mediate between the players.

The round had already been going for ten minutes before Superman was finally obliterated from the game. He mumbled something about how they'd never had games like this where he'd grown up. The Batman/Diana combination and Tim targeted John next, effectively eliminating him from the game. His excuse was that he hadn't played this since he was a kid.

Tim had a wicked grin on his face knowing that victory was in his grasp. Batman maintained his silent persona throughout the game but Diana constantly spoke to both the screen and her forced partner, never expecting an actual response from either.

They played for another five minutes. The grin dropping from Tim's face, Batman's eyes narrowed with focus and Diana alternating between words of encouragement and Greek swear words.

Tim won by default when Diana accidently crushed half of the controller in her hand.

"The winner and still champion!" he crowed, throwing his hands in the air with a grin. After relishing the moment he said, "although it was nice to have some real competition."

Diana looked at the pieces of plastic in her hand, "I'm sorry about your game. I just got a little excited."

"Just a little," Shayara rolled her eyes.

Batman looked her straight in the eye, "You made us lose Princess."

"I made us lose?" she protested at once, "If it wasn't for my quick thinking you would have walked us right off that cliff!"

"We were only in that position because you missed the timing for the spinning kick," Batman shot back.

Her glare rivaled his, "The spinning kick was obviously a poor tactical option. Any decent combatant would know that the situation called for a two pronged frontal assault."

"Please," he scoffed, "that's just the limited Amazon fighting style talking. It was the moment for anything but a frontal assault, too obvious." The League's faces could only be described with the phrase 'oh no he didn't'.

"Not to interrupt this touching moment," Batgirl vaulted through the open window, "but I've got better things to do then watch the lovebirds spat."

The sheer audacity of her comment closed the mouths of both Batman and Wonder Woman. Tim's jaw however dropped open, "Who are you?"

"Batgirl 2.0" she answered and gave him a glare, "and who are you supposed to be? Justice League Junior?" She reached into her utility belt, "now who wants to be the guinea pig?" In her hand was what appeared to be a can of spray paint.

"How guinea piggish are we talking here?" Flash asked.

She juggled the can from one hand to the other, "I'm 99% sure that this will work."

"And the other one percent?"

She shook the can, "Your skin will turn pink for a week." She tossed the can and Batman caught it. He spared a second to squeeze Diana's hand and when she didn't object, he sprayed.

They waited a second and then pulled. Their hands came apart slowly, slowly peeling away, but they did come apart.

Batman flexed his hand once then immediately put on the glove, "Great, spray up, and then get out of Gotham. I've got work to do."

* * *

><p>The League quickly vacated the premises. They stopped only to thank Alfred for their hospitality. Diana had an extra surprise. She asked Batman a second time if he wanted to go to the football game with her and when he predictably shot her down, she smiled. Turning to Alfred she asked him to give the ticket to Bruce.<p>

"It's my thankyou for his hospitality," she explained with a smile, "I'll give him that date he's been begging me for. As long as he behaves himself, think he'll be interested?"

The butler smiled, "I'm sure that wild horses couldn't keep him away. He'd be delighted."

Batman and Batgirl vaulted through the window of the Manor only to return once Batman confirmed that the League was gone. Bruce Wayne emerged from the BatCave while Kayla slide down the stairwell banister to land at the bottom.

Tim was waiting, "What the heck was that?"

"Hilarious," Kayla was laughing, "You would not believe everything that went down."

Bruce may not have been wearing the cape but that didn't improve his disposition, "what," he growled at his daughter, "was that?"

She sobered immediately, "that was me saving your sorry butt from three more days of that. Although in retrospect it might have been good for you."

He didn't take her bait, "We agreed that you would stay away from any and every aspect of the Batman association."

"No," she said, "you _decreed_ that I would stay away from any and every aspect of the Batman association. I _agreed_ that it was beneficial for _the time being_. The problem has always been the actual fighting, being out in the open. I was careful. My being in the BatCave and Barbara's place in her old Batgirl costume is hardly going to expose anything to anyone. Besides if there's anyone who knows their way around genetics and the aspects of a cell it's me." She glared at him defiantly, "I did you a crapload of favours and only took risks that I was willing to take and that I deemed appropriate. You should be thanking me."

Tim was too busy being shocked, "How do you know about cells anyways? Or how to use the grapple or a motorcycle or anything besides clothes and boys and fashion?"

"Uh," she backpedaled into Wayne mode, "I'm intuitive."

Tim crossed his arms, "I want to know what everybody isn't telling me."

"As would I," Alfred cut in, "Secrets may swirl around this family but they should never," his tone was fierce, "reside within it."

Kayla said nothing, looking only at her feet. Bruce met Alfred's eyes for a moment and then the Batman was summarily beaten back by the elderly man's gaze, "On one condition," Bruce said, "Kayla you will never put that suit on again."

"Unless it's a dire emergency," she amended.

He shook his head, "Never." His eyes dared her to argue. She may have been the one of a few select people who could pull off a Batglare but even she had nothing on this particular look.

"Fine." She looked to the ground so that Bruce would miss the spark in her eyes. If there was one thing she'd learned at the Manor it was that there was a way around every rule, even those decreed by the Almighty Batman.

Bruce nodded once, "very well. Tim, Alfred perhaps we should sit down, the story is lengthy."

They made their way back to the kitchen. Kayla leaned over to Tim, "how much would you pay for a photo of Batman sitting on Wonder Woman's lap?"

* * *

><p>Diana was in her room on the Watchtower mentally running through the events of the past 24 hours when Shayara burst into the room and plopped herself onto a nearby chair, "Spill."<p>

"Spill what?" Diana asked innocently.

Shayara's eyes narrowed, "Nuh uh, you can't pull the innocent Amazon doesn't understand the language bit with me. I want to hear all about your secret adventures with the Bat."

Diana shrugged, "Not much to tell. We meet the Commissioner, poked around Arkham, ran some tests. Seemed like standard detective work to me."

"Bah," Shayara said, "that's what you'll tell the boys you did. You forget that I spent years training to ferret out half truths like the one you just told. I want an explanation behind the blush and Batman's lack of killing you."

"He wasn't lying about the blush," Diana insisted, "I did punch him in the jaw."

"Sure," Shayara said, "but the real question is why." Her eyes widened, "he didn't make a move did he?"

Diana laughed, "No by Hera no. We were sleeping and I accidently ended up rolling in his arms, freaked out and punched him on instinct."

Shayara stared at her and then burst out laughing herself, "So you made the first move? The innocent Amazon? That's gold."

"It was not a move," Diana insisted, "it was a legitimate mistake."

Shayara's grin was sly, "to your conscious mind maybe. Come on Di, we've all got a secret weakness for the bad boy." Diana shook her head and smiled. "Oh deny it all you want Miss Man-Hater but I know it's there. That was never my actual question."

"I know I'm going to regret asking," Diana said, "but what is your question?"

"Upon recent closer examination of you and your romantic, and I use the term lightly, endeavours the only question I have is if you'll choose to go after Bruce Wayne or Batman."

"Neither," Diana said firmly, "One is a womanizer the other nothing but a dark colleague."

"You keep telling yourself that giggles," Shayara's grin hadn't receded, "but I know a first crush when I see one."

* * *

><p>Tim and Alfred finally stopped asking Bruce and Kayla questions in midafternoon.<p>

"Whoa," was all Tim could say as he took everything in, "Whoa."

"Does Master Richard know?" Alfred asked.

Bruce nodded, "he does. Barbara too."

"And you're cool with this?" The words burst out of Tim at Kayla.

She shrugged not having said much during the conversation, "I don't have much of a choice but to be cool with it do I?"

"I suppose not," he agreed. Then his eyes narrowed slightly, "why didn't you just tell me from the beginning?"

She looked down again, "because I didn't want you to look at me that way. I didn't want to be that person. I just wanted to be Kayla Wayne and be relatively normal."

"Fair enough," Tim surprised Kayla and she looked up sharply, "what?" he asked, "you really think that I'm going to condemn you for things beyond your control? Besides now I can help with the search."

His eyes widened in surprise when Kayla's eyes welled up with tears, "hey now," he protested, "no crying." He put an arm around her, "I have one more question though."

She nodded and he began, "In the message, what was up with the giant tree frogs?"

Kayla blinked and laughed, "now there's a story."

Alfred waited until the two walked away and then turned to Bruce, "You should tell her."

Bruce sighed, he'd anticipated this, "no."

"She deserves to know sir." The sir was clipped slightly.

"It's not a prudent course of action." Bruce insisted, "It's unsafe and foolish."

Alfred shook his head, "I wasn't making the suggestion based on prudency. I was stating it based on what it the right thing to do. Which, as you should know sir, is the most important factor in any situation."

"The most important thing to do," Bruce repeated, "is to keep everyone alive. Alfred, this is one place where I will not bend. She does not get to know."

The butler wisely turned away, knowing that this was not the moment to win the battle, "Ah yes sir, heaven forbid that the almighty Batman face his challenges side by side with those who care about him. You must of course stand boldly in front of us all, that is much safer and more prudent sir."

Alfred's punch was deflated slightly by the sound of Dick's voice in the foyer. It was angry, "Who took my motorcycle?"

"Oh no…" Kayla said softly.

* * *

><p>Superman was alone in the Watchtower infirmary. After their little adventure in Gotham the League was giving each other their space. He personally had flown home to Metropolis, cleaned up the small mess that had occurred while he was gone, checked in at the Planet, and visited Lois.<p>

Despite his assurances to Star Labs that he would pick up the bodies in the afternoon he hadn't been able to make the run until the next morning. He had gotten distracted by the news that Luthor was getting chummy with the populace and that one of his opponents had suddenly taken ill. Superman had personally delivered the ailing man to the best medical facility in the country. He wasn't taking sides, just doing his part for an American. The fact that he'd casually burned a few posters of Luthor dancing with Diana with his heat vision was inconsequential.

Then he'd put off the assignment for most of the afternoon although it wouldn't take long, nobody really wanted to spend their time looking at dead bodies.

He sighed as he observed the two forms before him, both wrapped up in sheets. He wasn't sure what had Star Labs in such a tizzy; they'd refused to tell him anything. They said that they didn't want to give him any preconceived notions. He sighed again and then subtly shifted the muscles in his eyes that allowed both micro and x-ray vision.

Scanning straight through the sheets he began his primary diagnosis, although he wasn't technically qualified for this eventually he'd become accustomed to the more gruesome aspects his powers allowed. They'd also suggested, rather hesitantly, that Batman might wish to examine them as well.

He couldn't figure out why. One body was male, one female. He would guess the female to be about nineteen, the male seventeen. It was always depressing to see such young kids in a state like this, especially in his city. There were obvious burns over their entire bodies but nothing that he didn't think Star Labs would have a problem with. Perhaps that was the problem; besides the superficial burns over most of their bodies there was no real reason for these teens to be dead.

He checked every major organ, organ pathway, there didn't appear to be any trauma. These kids had just dropped dead. He dug deeper, turning up the microvision and looking straight into the individual cells. Superman wasn't entirely sure what he was looking for but something just looked wrong to him, something in the mitochondria. He moved on slightly perplexed. He froze when he hit the nucleus. He then quickly scanned a variety of cells in both bodies, making sure that he was seeing it right.

Superman immediately activated his comm link, "Batman, come in."

There was a pause while he waited. There was always a chance that Batman was currently unavailable. Finally, "What?" was barked over the line.

"The bodies from Star Labs," Superman said, still unable to believe what he had seen.

He could hear Batman frown, "What about them?"

"I need you to take a look at them."

"I'm busy making up for my day off," Superman could hear the disdain in Batman's voice, "I'm sure you can handle it."

"Normally I could handle it," Superman said even though he knew that Batman knew that. Superman checked over dozens of bodies for Star Labs every year, usually discovering some kind of virus in the cells or small mass of tissue that the tests had passed over.

Superman took in a deep breath, afraid that he was somehow wrong, "Batman, none of the cells in either body have any genetic material."

The sounds on the other end of the line froze.

"Mitochondrial?" Batman asked,

Superman shook his head even though Batman couldn't see him, "Nothing. No chromosomes, no random viral DNA, absolutely nothing."

"Don't touch them," came the order, "I'm on my way."

* * *

><p><strong>Wow there was so much feedback on the last chapter. I'm glad that everyone liked it so much and I appreciate every comment. I'm thrilled that everyone else found it as funny as I did because otherwise I'd just feel stupid laughing to myself as I type. And believe me if TEAM BATMAN shirts actually existed I would be first in line to buy them. <strong>


	22. Jess and Eddie

Batman's examination of the bodies took one hour and thirty seven minutes. Superman paced outside of the infirmary doors the entire time, having been kicked out of the room.

Batman finally emerged, "How many times do I have to tell you Kent? The superpowers aren't enough, take off the sheet and look at the bodies."

"Why? What did you find?" Superman asked.

Batman didn't give him what he wanted, "I need to meet with you, Superboy and Supergirl."

"What, why?" Superman asked taken aback.

"I can't tell you that," Batman retreated back into the room again, "and I'm taking the bodies with me." Superman tried to follow him but was stopped, "No," Batman said, "you can't see them. And I'll trust you not to use x-ray vision either. Where's secure for me to meet you?"

Superman paused, and then extended a gesture of goodwill towards Batman, "The Fortress of Solitude."

Batman's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, causing the cowl to shift slightly. Whether this was due to location or more likely, Batman's mockery of the name Superman was unsure. He was proud to have rattled the man either way. Despite his prickly nature Superman knew that there was a good man under the darkness, a man he could trust. He just wished that Batman felt the same.

"Fine," Batman nodded once, "I'll teleport down in an hour. Don't be late." He disappeared into the examining room again.

Superman waited till he was out of earshot, "It's my Fortress," he muttered, "you don't be late. I'll get there whenever I want."

Later when reviewing the tapes, the comment would give the Dark Knight a small smile.

* * *

><p>"I don't see why you guys kow-tow to this Batman anyway," Supergirl leaned against the hull of the Titanic, "he's just a dude in a suit." Her voice echoes in the icy cavern that was the Fortress.<p>

The three Kyrptonians were assembled as 'requested' in the Fortress. Superman and Supergirl resplendent in their blue, red and yellow contrasted deeply with Superboy in his black and red 'casual' costume.

"Have you met Batman?" Superboy asked, "Cause I did once, when he insisted on double-checking that I wasn't programmed by Cadmus. The 'dude in a suit' carries Kryponite on him _at all times_," he emphasized, "That at least makes me listen."

Supergirl's eyes blazed slightly, "That makes me even less likely to listen to him! If he doesn't trust me, why should I trust him? I could have him down and out before his hand could get anywhere near Kryptonite." She turned to her biological cousin, "Right Kal?"

"You're welcome to try Kara," Superman said kindly, "but he tends to be trickier than anyone anticipates."

Supergirl sped over to one of Superman's classic cars and hefted it over her head with one finger, "Right, because anyone who can do this will be defeated by a human." The sarcasm was obvious.

"Easily defeated," a deep voice rumbled behind her.

Supergirl shrieked, swung randomly behind her and dropped the car. Superman raced over to catch it before it hit the ground, "Careful Kara," he said with concern only for the car, "that's a collector's item."

"By Rao Batman!" Kara said, "Where did you come from?"

He didn't respond. Batman nodded a greeting to Superman then swished past the three super-beings to deposit something on a nearby table.

Supergirl wasn't impressed, "How did you sneak up on me? I've got super-senses for Pete's sake."

Batman didn't even turn around, "Superpowers that you don't use or pay attention to are hardly an asset." Supergirl tried out her own version of the Batglare, it was ineffective.

Superboy sniffed, "What is that smell?" The teenage boy's eyes widened when they took in what was on the table, "Is that a monkey?"

"Why did you bring a dead, shaven monkey with you Batman?" Superman asked as he rearranged the car back into his collection, "Or better yet where did you get a dead, shaven monkey?"

Batman's answer was typically cryptic, "I know a guy." He paused, "although Robin had to shave him."

"Lead!" Supergirl yelled suddenly, "you line your cowl with lead?"

"Kara," Superman said sharply, "we talked about spying under masks."

She ignored her cousin, "Lead? I mean how paranoid do you have…"

"Kara," The man of steel boomed, "We DO NOT look under masks, we DO NOT abuse our powers, we DO NOT just take information that we haven't earned, we DO NOT betray trust." Superman's face brooked no argument and Supergirl looked at the ground, smoothing out her skirt awkwardly. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," she mumbled her cheeks pink. Superboy was smirking at her, enjoying her discomfort.

"I brought the monkey," Batman continued as though nothing had happened, "because I believed that there would be objections to my request to burn a dead human and a monkey was the next best option."

"I'm sorry," Superboy asked, "But why do we have to burn the monkey?" He got up and meandered over to the table.

Batman took over Superman's computer with eerie ease. "The bodies found by Star labs were burnt on their epidermal layer of skin on almost 40% of their bodies. Upon examination the burns give off the same subtle ion trail that your heat vision does." Batman pulled up a schematic of the ions that the bodies were giving off, "Each one of you has subtle differences in the ion configuration within your heat vision, I need to do a comparison to the subject's pattern."

Superman crossed his arms, "No-one here would purposely burn anyone."

"Then you'll have no trouble proving it," Batman said bluntly.

Superboy was upset now, "No way, you're accusing us of murder. This is still because of the whole partial clone of Superman/Lex isn't it?"

"Cadmus could have a part," was Batman's only response as he watched the boy. Superman could practically see Batman's mind whirling with the implications of Superboy's apparent refusal to perform the test.

"Conner, just do it." Superman's voice had gone from fury to almost begging.

"You first Kal," Supergirl said, coming to stand beside Connor.

Superman shrugged and turned. Eyes blazing he burnt a small patch of the monkey's back, careful to keep the burn to the top layers of the skin. Batman immediately passed a handheld scanner over the tissue and a new ion spectroscopy appeared on the screen. It was similar but not identical.

With a little prodding eventually Superboy and Supergirl did the same. They didn't match either. Supergirl had a smug look on her face, "Told you."

Batman stared at the screen, sent the information to the Watchtower and then turned to the teenage Kryptonian, "This is _not_ a good thing."

"You want us to be murderers?" Superboy asked.

Superman too looked worried, "No Conner, it means that someone out there also has our heat vision."

"Possibly more," Batman said, "There was talk of a Supergirl clone. I thought that I'd shut it down."

"Cadmus," Superboy spit the word, "I'll go back there and give them a piece of my mind." Supergirl paled.

Superman laid a hand on the boy's shoulder, "No Conner, we have no proof that Cadmus is involved. Do we Batman?"

The Dark Knight dumped the monkey into a duffel bag, "None that they directly caused the deaths."

Supergirl was still in shock, "A – a –a clone? Of me? When? Why?" Then it turned to anger, "Who do they think they are? I'm not just a piece of DNA that they can take and multiply at will!" She started floating in her anger.

"Guess you shouldn't underestimate us 'mere humans' anymore." Batman said while watching her carefully.

"Please," she scoffed, "I'll just do what Connor said. Bust in there and get my DNA back. It's mine after all isn't it? I never said they could take it, that's a form of stealing and we lock of thieves all the time."

"I can't let you do that," Batman said calmly before Superman could get a word in.

She floated right in front of him, "You won't let me?" Her voice was dangerous and proud.

Batman didn't even flinch as her eyes took on a slight red glow, "It could be a trap. Something that you're not prepared for. Supergirl, all of you, you're some of the most powerful creatures on the planet. If someone intelligent were to come after you, they wouldn't attack you directly. They'd try to trick you. Surprise you. Remember Supergirl... only your body's invulnerable."

* * *

><p>Superman was on monitor duty, all seemed to be quiet but he knew better then to assume that would last. It had been a few days since the latest collection of villains had decided to attack the League and Superman was expecting a reappearance any day.<p>

Wonder Woman wandered in and handed him an iced mocha.

He smiled at her, "Not everyone is addicted to those you know."

"Only the smart people," She lifted hers in a toast like gesture, "I'll take it back if you want."

He shook his head with a smile, "Is Shayara talking to Flash yet?" The two hadn't exactly gotten along since the now infamous 'sticking-experience'.

Diana nodded, "John and J'onn talked them into it, and bribed them with chocolate cake."

"Any left?" he asked hopefully.

"Nope," she grinned at him, "besides don't you have a date with Lois tonight?"

He smiled hopefully, "unless there's some major world disaster. She'll kill me if I cancel again. She's still waiting to hear back from you how the date with Walters went." Superman snickered slightly. The Batman-Walters fiasco was still a sore spot for the girls.

Diana arched an eyebrow at him, "tell her I'll be by shortly. Actually I haven't seen Batman for a couple of days."

Superman adjusted a frequency on the Watchtower console and nodded, "The last time I saw him was five days ago at the Fortress. He's got to be pretty busy. He took on those two bodies from Star labs, still working on Luthor, our would be assassins and whatever Gotham is throwing at him. I'm sure he's fine."

Diana bit her lip, "The Joker's still at large."

"I'm more worried about Luthor," Superman confessed, "although someone apparently convinced most of Gotham's elite to send financial support to his major opponent. I've got to start sending them thank-you cards."

"I wouldn't put that past Batman." Diana said.

Superman smiled, "The man can do many things Diana but he doesn't seem the type to be rubbing elbows with the rich and famous. Typically winning support is a little more than growling and demanding."

She shrugged, "It seems to be me that nothing goes on in Gotham unless Batman's fingerprints are all over it."

* * *

><p>The amusement park was abandoned years ago and now crouched on the edge of Gotham city. It resembled nothing more than the carcass of a long dead animal, bare bones, falling apart with old sinews and tendons keeping things together. It was chaotic. It was forgotten, shattered. He found it perfect. Not even the Batman would look for him here, it was too obvious. The Batman would assume that he was cleverer than this and that was why it was so clever.<p>

The rain pounded overhead. It was perfect. Even the Batman disliked working in the rain. Then a voice cut through the rain, sometimes it was irritating, sometimes welcome, he'd decide when he heard what it had to say.

"Mista J," Harley called, "I'm back."

"Yes," he waved her away, "I can hear that. Did you find him?"

Harley beamed with pride, "You betcha sir. It was pretty hard Mista J, he's a skittish one. But I found him down at his favourite restaurant."

"And he'll do it?"

Harley nodded overenthusiastically, "He said so, he wouldn't cross you. He said it might be an actual challenge."

"Excellent," The Joker's grin was dark and his laughter echoed in the night.

* * *

><p>"Uh Bruce?" Robin was standing behind the BatCave computer chair, "Were you planning on coming up sometime in the next week?" Batman remained hunched over the computer, ignoring him. "Cause besides patrol," Robin continued, "You haven't left the cave. You haven't slept or eaten anything besides protein bars or even showered for like three days." Still no response, Tim poked him in the shoulder, "Alfred is getting worried. Kayla is worried. I'm becoming concerned. Heck, even Dick is wondering if you've finally gone off the deep end and don't get me started on Barbara." Still no response.<p>

Then Batman's nose twitched. Alfred's voice appeared, "Sir, I've made triple buster peanut butter double chocolate cookies. If I do recall they are your favourite but as you know I only make them every few years due to the" Alfred sniffed, "fact that they are baked heart failure." Tim placed one cookie on the console, "There are more upstairs sir. I'd hurry though, Master Richard and Miss Barbara are here and Kayla has never tried them before. Come now Master Timothy, I've saved some for you."

Five minutes later Bruce Wayne was sitting upstairs in the kitchen, leaning over a platter of cookies and growling at anyone who even reached for the plate. His eyes were ringed with red, he smelled funny and his hair stuck up at odd angles. Instead of the traditional glass of milk a tall coffee mug stood beside him. Five pairs of eyes watched him consume the treats, intrigued and slightly repulsed.

"It's like watching a feral wolf," Tim whispered to Dick.

He shook his head slightly, not taking his eyes off Bruce, "Shark feeding frenzy."

"Careful," Barbara cautioned, "Don't look it in the eye."

Kayla agreed, "It can smell fear."

Alfred was the brave one. Raising his voice above the whisper the others had used he said, "Master Bruce, I insist that you share the cookies. I did not make them solely for you."

Bruce gave him the evil eye, "Are you saying that you didn't make these just to lure me out of the cave."

Alfred was unperturbed, "Not at all sir, I just thought that it was time to introduce Kayla to a new type of cookie." He reached over and forcibly pulled the plate from Bruce's grasp. He picked up a smaller plate, dropped two cookies on it, stole the coffee and returned the platter to the center of the table. "Now sir, why don't you eat those, take a shower, take a nap and then return and tell us what you've been working on."

Bruce opened his mouth to object and the batclan held their breath.

"Did that sound like I was making a request sir?" Alfred said, cutting off his charge as though he was still ten, "you may no longer care about your mental state but I can assure you that the rest of us do. Now you will go and take care of yourself or we will knock you unconscious and do it for you." Bruce's eyes dared him to, but Alfred wasn't done. "And if that doesn't work sir, I intend to call the Watchtower, reveal your identity to both Wonder Woman and Superman and have them deal with you."

Bruce stuffed the cookies in his mouth and slunk off to his bedroom.

The batclan turned to Alfred shock on their faces. It was Tim who finally said it, "Alfred, you are a god."

They saw Bruce 22 hours later, possibly because he legitimately needed the sleep and possibly because Alfred had laced some of the cookies with a mild sedative. Either way the Bruce who returned was in a better state of mind than the one who left. Except his eyes, the frantic look had disappeared and was replaced with a haunted one.

It was a look that Alfred recognized well, it was similar to the look in the eight year old Bruce's eyes after his parent's death. It was a look of missed moments. The look squeezed Alfred's stomach, someone had died. Bruce did not deal well with death, "sir?" the butler queried gently.

Bruce didn't respond, everyone could see that despite the lack of costume it was Batman in the room. He met Kayla's eyes, "We need to talk."

She hadn't known him long enough to see the signs, "So talk."

"In private," he growled. The BatClan exchanged glances and moved to file out of the room.

Kayla stopped them, "Anything you want to say to me you can say to them," she said firmly, "I'm so sick of secrets."

Batman stared at her for a moment, "Very well," he said finally, "I need to see your tattoo."

"What?" She asked, "now? You've seen it before." Batman continued to stare at her.

Tim interrupted, "You've got a tattoo? Wow Kayla, hardcore much?"

Barbara shushed him, "It's not that kind of tattoo Tim."

Kayla shrugged, "Alright Bruce, whatever." She grabbed a beltloop of her jeans and pulled the right side down slightly, exposing the skin where the leg meets the pelvis. There were three lines of text in soft black ink.

**D - 6**

**Project AoW**

**2* – 3 – 100**

Alfred only glanced at the ink, choosing instead to watch his surrogate son. He watched Bruce read the tattoo once, twice, three times, than Alfred saw another little spark of hope die in the man's eyes.

Tim and Dick, neither of which had seen it before were busy trying to decode the meaning. Barbara however, also caught Bruce's look, "What is it B?" she asked trying to remain calm. Kayla looked up, her eyes now full of worry.

Batman's voice was all business, "We need to go to the cave, the examination room."

* * *

><p>The cave seemed more menacing then usual as they all made their way down although most were unsure as to why. Dick was carrying Barbara. Bruce and Tim were maneuvering the wheelchair. Alfred always hung back so it was Kayla who reached the examination room first.<p>

It was well equipped and the entire room centered around one large, stainless steel table. Lying on the table were the two corpses that Superman had taken from Star Labs and that Batman had liberated from the Watchtower.

Everyone's confusion was obvious for a moment until Kayla, who had stared at them the longest, finally started to put the pieces together.

"No," she said softly, "No, no, no." She ran forward to where she could see what remained of the faces, "no, no, no, no, no, no, please God no."

Most of the skin on the faces was burnt beyond recognition but it was enough for Kayla. She froze but tears began crawling down her cheeks. Then she extended a hand towards the faces, it was trembling slightly, "Jess?" she whispered with a crack in her voice, "Eddie?" The hand dropped before it could touch them, "It can't be." She whispered defiantly, "It just can't. Not you, not when I'm not…." She broke off. "No," she started to sound hysterical.

Tim took a step forward, "No," she pointed a finger at him, "Stop, I'm fine. They're not dead. This isn't them. This _can't_ be them." Her voice begged them to agree, "They were both better than me, smarter, faster, determined, more driven. I'd be dead before them. Hands down. This is some kind of sick joke."

No-one said anything. Dick's face was guarded, his hands on Barbara's wheelchair the knuckles white. A single tear began to track its way down Barbara's face. Tim's face was ashen, sympathy written all over it. Alfred hovered in the background, torn between which role he should be playing and wondering if Bruce would step up.

Kayla met her father's eyes, "It's not them."

"Kayla," he said and they jumped at the Batman voice that emerged, "I checked. The DNA is a match-"

"No," she cut him off, desperate, "Cadmus faked it. Cloned them. Changed the DNA, something. It's all a lie, an elaborate ruse. They want me to stop looking for them. They want to take them back because they escaped, because I went after them." She was crying in little hiccups now between her words, fighting off the inevitable, "They can't be dead. It would be my fault because I didn't go with them when they first left. They begged me." She turned to the bodies and almost appeared to be pleading with them, "don't leave me. I was coming. I wanted to come, but I wasn't brave like you. I decided too late. I tried to find you, I really did." The tears came faster now, the breathing more ragged. "I'm your sister!" She screeched at them, "you can't just leave me like this. You promised me that we'd find each other. You promised. You said we'd be a family. We'd find our parents with a real mom, a real dad. But I was scared. They watched me too closely. You said you'd come back and get me." She felt a hand rest on her shoulder, "but you never came back. You promised." She looked up, Bruce, not Batman looked back at her, "They're not dead, it's not them." She said one last time.

He said nothing. Keeping his hand on her shoulder he pointed to their right sides.

Kayla broke down.

Her knees gave out but Bruce was there to catch her, Tim right behind him. Barbara and Alfred came too. Even Dick, despite his reservations about Kayla joined in the spontaneous BatClan group hug. After all, they all had lost family, they'd all had their hearts broken.

They eventually broke apart. Kayla stared at the bodies, everyone else watched Kayla. It was finally Dick who asked, "Who killed them?"

"Currently unknown," Batman said, "but the ions are typical for heat vision."

Kayla's eyes flashed slightly, latching onto this opportunity for revenge, "It was Cadmus. I know it. We've been a thorn in their side since they started."

Tim raised his hand hesitantly, "I thought you were part of Cadmus."

Kayla shook her head, still not taking her eyes off of her siblings, "We were before Cadmus. Most of the people who worked with us became part of Cadmus later on but technically they were separate organizations." She lost herself in the memories, "Jess always said we were just another layer in the onion. Then Eddie would laugh and tell her that he'd already hacked the Onion and could she be more specific please."

"You had names?" Dick sounded surprised, "Cadmus is big on numbers."

She shrugged, "Technically I was either Two or Six, depending on who was addressing me. We gave ourselves our own names."

Tim pointed to the tattoos on their hips, "What does it mean?"

Jess read:

**D - nv**

**Project AoW**

**1 – 3 – 100**

Eddie:

**D – nv**

**Project AoW**

**3 – 3- 100**

Kayla sighed once, then finally touched the bodies. Resting one hand on Jess's tattoo she pointed to Eddie's, "The D stood for the project's name, you know, whatever it was called instead of Cadmus. The nv means 'non viable'. Project AoW was our particular division, we were Project Art of War." She shrugged, "In the bottom line the first number is order we were born in. The 3 means that there were 3 of us allowed to live and the 100 means that they started with 100 subjects."

Dick was intrigued, "So you were the middle kid, why the star beside your number?"

"Because I was supposed to be the genetic combination that they got right." She said numbly. Alfred recognized the reaction, she was distancing herself from the situation, "Jess was close. She was their first try that didn't kill itself or wasn't horribly deformed. I'm apparently genetically perfect. Eddie is also genetically perfect except that someone forget to notice that he's got a y chromosome. They only wanted girls." She explained, "the other 97 all died when they were playing with their genes or were killed off. Technically by now we all should have been killed off." Her smile was grim, "I'm the only survivor, wonder how long I'll last."

Her eyes were hollow. Tim moved fast wanting to get her out of the room. He did the only thing he could think of, he knocked her unconscious. Then he dropped her in Barbara's lap and began wheeling both girls out of the room.

Dick nodded at Bruce once, indicating that he'd be back and followed them.

Alfred remained with Bruce, "It's a tragedy sir."

Bruce sank back against the wall, "Kayla will need help."

"Of course sir," Alfred agreed, "I'm sure that we'll all be there for her but she's a fighter sir. She'll come through."

Bruce nodded in agreement, then, "I couldn't save them Alfred." His voice was ragged, "they're my children and I never got to know them, got to meet them. I barely even knew they existed."

Alfred reached over and adjusted the bodies to a more dignified position, hand crossed and eyes closed. "Then don't waste any more time sir. Spend more time with the children you do have, genetic and otherwise. Don't allow them to dwell on these deaths but strive to embrace life." He turned back to Bruce, "you should take the night off sir, spend time with your family. Despite your particular thirst for revenge I feel that Kayla will be better serviced by your presence than vengeance." Bruce nodded once; Alfred was usually right when it came to family.

He stood to return to the Manor, "We'll bury them in the graveyard."

"Of course sir," Alfred continued with his administrations to the bodies. "Sir," he said finally, "if this is how you feel now perhaps you may wish to reconsider the situation with their mother."

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah I know, it's not that funny. But they can't all be funny chapters….<strong>

**Thanks for all the love on the last chapter! And asking for clarification is fine, I'm more than happy to clear up any questions**

**To my anonymous reviewer(s): I've tried really hard to not make Kayla a Mary Sue, so although I appreciate the compliment that you think I'm awesome enough to be Batman's daughter I'd love to hear how you think I could fix the problem.**


	23. Out of the Frying Pan

The sky was red that night, the little of it that could be seen. Clouds covered much of the heavens and storms raged within them as though the gods were working their power. It wasn't far from the truth, though none took note.

The ground was still wet in the afternoon when the Wayne family gathered in an unfortunately familiar place. Bruce's parents were buried here, Dick's parents were buried here, Tim's parents were not but a marker represented their place. Two mounds of dirt stood waiting to bury two more.

The caskets were simple, both closed as Kayla didn't want to remember these burnt dead versions of her family. The only addition made was a small device ensuring that the coffins remained closed, Batman had experienced corpse theft one too many times. There was no ceremony, no words spoken, no pastor or priest officiating, no last rites, no blessings or prayers to a higher power. Just dirt, stone, wood and silence, all cold, hard, polished and familiar.

They lowered the coffins into their holes, everyone in attendance grabbing a shovel. There was something cathartic about the motion, smooth, calm, as though they were digging a garden and not filling in graves. Dick and Tim moved smoothly, sad by association. Alfred and Barbara watched more than shoveled, each with an armful of roses. Bruce moved methodically, every shovel of dirt thunking on the coffin reminding him why he was Batman, who he was, what he was made for, why he continued. Kayla's movements were sporadic and rushed. Salt water gushing down her face but not a sound came from her throat. Her eyes downcast, not full of the vengeance or conviction that had accompanied pervious burials in this graveyard, but instead conveying hopelessness, every shovel that buried her siblings a pound of dirt on her own coffin.

They finished quickly, hardly sweating. All that was left to show their efforts existed were two patched of dirt within the grass and two headstones. Both were plain as Kayla had known they would have wanted. Beneath their names was a single line,

_Hardly started but never forgotten_

Fanning out they ensured that every grave had a rose laid upon it. Bruce paused at his parents' grave and in a moment completely out of character threw out a thought to the wind, "Keep them safe."

* * *

><p>Dick took Barbara home and as the rest re-entered the Manor, trudging into the foyer Alfred broke the silence with a reminder to please not ruin the clean floors. It was exactly what was needed.<p>

"Same old Alfred," Tim said with a small smile, "it's a weekend, I'll flip into some trackpants and be back in a flash." His eyes narrowed slightly, "don't let Bruce eat all of the cookies."

The phone was ringing but Alfred walked right past it, choosing instead to pull a tray of warmed triple chocolate chunk cookies from the oven. Bruce himself went over to answer it.

Without turning around Alfred said, "I wouldn't do that sir."

The hand paused on the phone, "Has there been a problem?"

"That would depend on your perception of a problem sir," Alfred said calmly.

Bruce's eyes narrowed, "Enlighten me." Kayla dragged herself into the kitchen and plopped absently into a chair, somewhere she'd managed to scrounge out one of Dick's old sweatshirts; she was drowning in it.

"Well sir," Alfred said, "I've taken to screening our calls as the press has become most persistent in determining the identity of Miss Kayla's mother. Ninety of percent of calls to the Manor now revolve around exclusive interviews." Bruce took his hand off the phone, "That particular number," Alfred pointed to the caller id, "belongs to the Daily Star. Apparently Miss Kayla is a rising star not only in Gotham city. I expect sir, that if either of you try to leave the grounds as a Wayne you'll promptly be accosted."

Kayla picked at the fraying strings on the sweater's sleeve, "then I guess I'd better get out there."

"I think not," Alfred said firmly, "you take all the time you need my dear, don't let the press bully you into being their showdog. You wouldn't wish to turn into Master Bruce now would you? Grief needs just that my dear, to grieve."

She stood, her eyes hollow, "Kayla Wayne isn't in mourning. She doesn't have another brother, a sister. She's just a happy go-lucky ditzy goody-goody." She shoved a cookie in her mouth, swallowed and squared her shoulders. The next sentence was an octave higher than it should have been, "I'm like living the good life! Might as well enjoy it before it's gone, Gotham's Princess has gotta party it up with the best of them." She strode confidently out of the room. It was certainly Kayla Wayne at her best, but her eyes told a different story.

* * *

><p>"Batman!" Flash greeted the Dark Knight, "long time no see! What brings you up to the Watchtower on this fine day? Anything I can help you with? J'onn kicked me out of the Monitor Room, Wondy is talking to Shy, and I'm bored!"<p>

"Go away Wally," Batman growled.

The speedster zipped away and then came right back, "I went away, now I'm back." He chirped, "come on Bats, what are you up to?"

"Realigning the Watchtower satellites," Batman said heading him off at the pass, "no, you can't help."

Flash paused, then followed after the dark figure anyway, "So what have you been doing Bats, busy down in Gotham?"

"Always," came the growl.

Flash shrugged, "You should take a vacation Bats, stop and smell the roses. I make sure that I always get a full eight hours of sleep too, Linda says I get weird without it. Maybe you should try it."

"I don't have time," Batman turned a corner on the Watchtower.

Flash started waving his hands in the air, "Sure you do Bats, you've just gotta make time. For example I'm having a video game party this weekend, you should come! Take a load off."

Batman internally shuddered at the thought of spending a weekend playing video games with Flash, "I'll pass."

"Your loss," the speedster shrugged, "how about Robin? He seemed fun; tell him that he should come by. How's he doing?"

"Fine."

"Fine what?" Flash asked, "He's fine. Fine, you'll ask him."

Batman was starting to feel exasperated, "both Flash, he's fine and I'll let him know."

"Perfect," Wally grinned. Then he added hesitantly, "What about Batgirl? How's she doing? She seemed prickly but she can come too if she wants."

Batman stopped and looked the young man in the eye, struck by his sincere invitation to a girl he didn't know and that Batman was sure he didn't like. Wally was the youngest in the League…. Batman took a chance, "Wally, you're basically a teenager."

The young man looked offended, "Come on Bats, I'm like 26. That's totally a grown-up."

Batman stopped him, "That wasn't a question."

"Oh," Wally's face fell.

"Batgirl isn't doing well." Batman said quickly, "any ideas on cheering her up?"

Flash's face phased through a ridiculous number of expressions, shock, delight, sadness, confusion, seriousness, contemplation, shock again. "Whoa, Bats," he said at last, "are you asking for my help? Cause I'm totally honoured but teenage girls are harder to understand than anything else in existence. I mean boyfriend stuff I kind of know, get chocolates, flowers, you know. But otherwise….."

"Never mind," Batman said gruffly, turning away and cursing himself for his foolishness.

Flash zipped back over to him, "Wait, wait, wait Batman, I'll still help you. I'll get you to the people who might know." Without giving Batman a choice in the matter Wally grabbed Batman by the arm and zoomed him around the Watchtower.

Within half a second they were in the lounge in front of Diana and Shayara. Wally was quick to interrupt what inconsequential conversation he was sure they were having, "Hey ladies, Batman needs your help. Don't take no for an answer. " Then Flash decided that it was probably safer to bother J'onn again and disappeared.

"So you need help Batman?" Shayara smirked, "that I'd believe. The fact that you asked for it, less so."

Batman ignored her and turned to leave.

"Come on Batman," Diana called after him, "she was just kidding, what's the problem?" He kept walking, suddenly there was a slightly PO'd Amazon blocking the doorway, "If Flash is saying you have a problem it's got to be big." Diana said, "And the fact that he didn't try to fix it himself says a lot more." Her blue eyes bored into his own, "what's wrong?"

Flash zipped by the room again and threw out the words from behind Diana, "he's having girl trouble."

"Girl trouble?" Shayara's eyes danced, "can't get your lady? I'll solve the problem, take Diana on a date. She's got a thing for you anyway."

Diana blushed slightly, "Don't listen to her, she's insane. Just projecting her own situation with John onto those around her."

"Hey now," Shayara said, "uncalled for. I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm projecting on no-one, you two would be great together." She paused, "once you stopped fighting."

Batman didn't move, "The same way you always fight with John?"

"Yes! I mean no!" Shayara stumbled, "I'm not projecting!"

Diana shook her head with a smile, "Just ask the man on a date already and leave the rest of us alone."

"Excellent theory," Batman moved to shimmy past Diana, "now if you'd excuse me Princess."

"Nope," she forcibly ejected him through the air and onto a nearby couch, "not until you tell us what the problem is."

He got to his feet instantly, "Just having some trouble with Batgirl, I'll figure it out."

"You're not dating her are you," Shayara's face was worried, "Batman she's just a kid."

Everything in Batman wanted to throw-up upon that comment, "Of course not." He said angrily, "if you must know her two siblings were just murdered and I have no idea how to help her. The Robins grief was easier, they were angry. That I could deal with but she just sits there, hollow."

The part of Batman that was still focused on the scene in front of him was amazed at the speed at which Diana's face reflected sorrow, "Batman, I'm so sorry to hear that. Were you close to them?"

"No," he said crisply to avoid his emotions, "but she was."

"Any family?" Diana asked.

Batman almost shrugged, "I'm the closest thing she's got left."

"And you're emotionally stunted," Shayara said thoughtfully.

"Normally," Batman spat, "I would hunt down the killers but I've hit a bit of a dead end in my investigation."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," Diana said absently, "but I doubt that will truly help. The best advice that I could give anyone in that situation would be to remind them to continue, that the futures beckons and that anything can happen, that I know the dead would want us to live, that the possibilities for the future can be anything we want them to be."

Batman stared at her, a spark of a memory going off in his head. Shayara was slightly freaked out by the length of the staring contest between the Bat and the Princess. Yet for the two involved it wasn't a staring contest as much as it was a passing of information, of understanding, of hidden meanings within the words.

Finally Diana moved out of the doorway she had been blocking, "You can go now if you want Batman."

He stood, swallowed and then said, "Thank you Diana." Both women gaped, the words sounded rusty. Then a smirk emerged on his face and the cocky Batman tone returned, "And I could have gotten past you if I really wanted to Princess."

She smiled at his challenge and moved back into the doorframe, "You're welcome to try."

He moved in front of the door and dropped into an obvious crane stance, "you sure Princess?" Shayara crossed her arms on the couch, interested in the show.

"Positive," her stance became defensive.

She caught his movement as he made it but misinterpreted it as a grab for a hold on the door frame. Instead his arms came around her in a typical bearhug grab, she smiled slightly. This was his big plan; she could get out of this in a second. Then suddenly, out of the blue, Batman kissed her.

Her mind whirled and then shut down as she instinctively returned the kiss. Which was odd because she would have told you before this point that her instinct was to clobber anyone who tried to kiss her. Fifteen seconds later she found herself turned around, gasping for air and suddenly Batman-less.

Frazzled slightly, Diana turned back to Shayara her mouth still open.

The Thanagarian looked equally shocked but upon seeing Diana's face changed her expression to something a little more self-righteous, "I'm the one who's projecting, riiiiiiiiight."

* * *

><p>Kayla snuck out of the Manor. It wasn't hard, Bruce was at the Watchtower, Tim was doing homework and Alfred was trying to get the wine out of her favourite white shirt. Still being sneaky was one thing that she was good at and it made her feel better, so she snuck.<p>

Someone was already standing at the graves when she got there, Kayla's stomach flipped but she continued forward and came to a stop beside the lone figure. Coattails snapping in the breeze. They stood in silence for moment before Kayla had to ask,

"Come to finish me off?"

Waller didn't turn her head, "Of course not, I'm the one keeping you alive."

"Gee, it's real obvious," sarcasm shone through.

Waller slipped her hands in her pockets, "I haven't told anyone that you're alive. If other members of Cadmus knew of your survival they'd demand your death. You're a lose end."

Kayla gestured to the graves, "Just like them."

"I didn't have them killed if that's what you're asking." Waller scoffed, "You should know better than that. Art of War was the first project that I ran; I had to fight to even bring you into existence. They were so obsessed with their Superman genes, no-one else thought that Batman was even worth considering. You should be thanking me."

Sarcasm again, "yes, because everything's turned out fabulous for me."

Waller moved to look the young girl in the eye, "Every other subject involved with that organization has been terminated Kayla. You're still alive, I'd say it turned out fabulous."

Kayla started laughing, "Now?" she queried, "Now you suddenly decide to call me by a name? After all this time? Now you chose to drop the number?"

Waller shook her head, "Well I didn't think you'd respond well to the idea that with the others dead you've been promoted to One."

Kayla sobered up, "Point taken."

"I think you should appreciate it more," Waller said, "being One means that we won. We outlasted them. After all this time being called a joke and powerless, you outlasted them all."

Kayla crouched to the ground, "It wasn't worth it. I never wanted to win, it's not really winning."

Waller waited a moment and then asked, "Where were you before you popped up with Bruce?"

"You mean after I left you," Kayla stared at the graves again, "You don't know everything Waller."

"I know quite a bit," Amanda said pulling her hands out of her pockets and tightening her coat, "but our intel is missing about eight months. I don't appreciate missing links, what hell hole were you hiding in?"

Kayla stood, "that is none of your business. I've got my own life now, I owe you nothing."

"A life with Bruce? With the Batman?" Waller scoffed again, "Please, he'll never trust you. Not with you being what you are, what you're made of, what you were supposed to be. Besides all that you and I both know that his mistrust is merited because you haven't told him everything have you?"

Kayla said nothing.

"Trying to maintain your illusion One, it's never going to work. He'll figure it out and you're little life here will shatter. I'll bet you've got him thinking that you never knew about the other projects we were running."

"You don't know anything," Kayla's voice was soft.

Waller stepped closer, "I do know this. You may have his genes, but you're no Batman. Stop fooling yourself One, we gave you all of his darkness and none of his light. Come with me and try it again."

Kayla recoiled, "I'm not going near Cadmus with a ten-foot pole."

"You misunderstand," Waller said patiently, "you do a couple little things for me. We fake your death, I set you up with some new papers and we can try this whole thing again with your mother." Kayla's face paled at the offer, "frankly," Waller continued, "I'm surprised you didn't go to her first."

Her voice was started shaky but firmed out, "I speak for all ninety-nine of my dead siblings when I say, _get out_."

* * *

><p>J'onn had called them all on assignment before Diana could begin to understand what had actually happened. The latest assortment of villains had decided to make an appearance. Comprising mostly of Flash villains their appearance at least matched Central City, Batman was still wracking his brain over why everyone had been in Gotham last time. Diana had apparently drawn the short straw. While the others got jokes like Captain Cold and Captain Boomerang, she got KGBeast. The momentary lack of focus sent her flying across the rapidly emptying shopping mall.<p>

Diana hardly had time to focus before she was caught in a hail of bullets, praising Hera that no-one ever thought to shot for her lower body Diana deflected most of them before finding momentary relief behind a decorative pillar.

She observed her teammates as bullets flew around her.

Flash was nothing but a red blur following closely on the tail of a yellow blur, Professor Zoom. Wally always claimed that he was faster; this would be the moment to prove it.

Mirror Master was playing havoc with Shayara. The mall was covered in reflective surfaces and the man would pop out somewhere, infuriate her and then disappear. It appeared that neither was causing the other any serious damage but Shayara's temper had flared and she'd taken to smashing any reflective surface in sight.

Batman was nearby, obviously keeping an eye on her. After Lantern's attack she had insisted that it could be any member of the League who was a target but Batman apparently wasn't convinced. He was ostensibly dueling with Captain Boomerang but the ease with which he dodged all attacks convinced Diana that once again Batman was playing a smoke and mirrors game.

Superman, Lantern and J'onn were out of site on an upper level. Batman had obviously told the Man of Steel to keep an eye on John. Superman was anything but subtle when they'd initially arrived on scene. Still the sounds of smashing from upstairs assured her that the situation was under control.

She changed her evaluation when the world around her exploded. The little man had shot a small caliber missile at her, it could not go unanswered. Employing a roll that Batman had forced her to learn at their last training session Diana popped up and then flew straight at KGBeast. The close quarters eliminated the advantage his gun game him as any explosive would most likely blow them both up.

A voice sounded in her ear, "Careful Diana," Batman's gravel came over the line, "he's a martial arts expert too."

She rolled her eyes, big brother Batman strikes again. KGBeast swung a haymacker at her head, Diana blocked with a bracelet and sent a palm strike towards his chin. He dropped down and shot a foot out at her kidney. She adjusted so that the shot hit her hipbone and smashed him in the larynx, temporarily impairing his ability to breath. She blocked his blind jab then fractured his jaw with a quick rabbit punch. He caught a lucky break when a roundhouse kick popped her knee cap out of the socket. He chuckled despite his swollen airway, "I really wish I could kill you." Taking advantage of her quick cry of pain he moved in and dislocated her shoulder. She retaliated quickly with a heel kick to the diaphragm and then followed up with a body shot that probably broke a couple of his ribs. Then she caught him in the lasso, he wasn't going anywhere.

Batman wasn't focused on his opponent. With a quick back roll he dodged Captain Boomerang's pathetic attempt to incapacitate his throwing arm, sending a few well-placed explosive Batarangs in his direction. Nothing to hurt the pathetic man, just to disorient him. No wonder Flash had so much time on his hands, this was too easy. He caught Diana in his peripheral, she'd dealt with KGBeast. He was mildly impressed; he'd seen the man give Bane a run for his money. Currently she appeared to be popping her shoulder back in place. He turned his attention back to Shayara; she was still having trouble with Mirror Master. Releasing a couple of bolos as Captain Boomerang, Batman crouched by a small decorative mirror embedded in a fountain, waiting. It took a few minutes but eventually Mirror Master appeared. Pouncing forward he grabbed the squirming coward, gave him a shot to the jaw because he could and then put him out like a light.

He chucked the man over in Diana's direction, where he could be added to the growing collection contained in her lasso. Shayara landed beside him.

"I had it under control," she hissed.

He turned his attention to the ceiling, looking for an opening, "of course you did."

"You were keeping an eye on me weren't you," she accused him.

He ignored her, choosing instead to let a Batarang fly. It whizzed past Diana's shoulder to knock the freeze ray out of Captain Cold's hand. It fell to the ground before he even had time to freeze Diana as per his original intention. Then a bolo neatly tied him up.

"Please," Batman reached for a grapple, "I keep an eye on everyone." He shot it at the gaping hole that an overeager Superman had made. Flames suddenly shot through the hole and the heroes and villains alike reared back. The entire upper level appeared to be on fire. It was swirling through cracks in the ceiling and hot enough to melt some of the metal supports.

A scream cut through the noise of falling debris.

Three faces paled, "J'onn," Diana made to move for the only portal to the upper level, a swirling hole of fire.

Batman grabbed her, "You're not invincible Princess. Superman will get him. We need to get everybody out. NOW." He barked.

* * *

><p>The police were waiting outside. They had just gotten everyone out when the second floor collapsed down to the first.<p>

A panicked voice sounded in their earpiece, "J'onn needs medical help now." Superman said.

They dumped the prisoners on the first cop they found and teleported to the Watchtower. The three heroes rushed to the medical bay, able to hear J'onn's screams from the moment they appeared on deck. Wally was rushing back and forth with buckets of water. John was attempting to run a diagnostic and Superman was dumping the water on J'onn. Someone had also apparently tried to use a fire extinguisher on the Martian. The trouble was that J'onn was usually the one to run the medical bay, the others were in the dark.

"Move," Batman demanded, shoving the strongest man on Earth aside.

Superman stumbled to the side, "There was so much fire." He said, "Firefly came right for him. I've never seen Firefly control that much fire." J'onn screamed again and the Man of Steel flinched with his teammates.

"Lantern," Batman ordered, "I need a medical tube big enough to fit J'onn. Flash on the third floor, room B-4 there's a container marked JJFF45, get it. Kent get over here and use your Artic Breath." They were quick to obey.

"Here Bats," Flash held out the box, looking frightened, "there were a ton of them, how many to do you need?"

"Twenty." Batman said as Lantern brought out one of the old containment tubes and plugged it in. Flash sped away, "Princess, I need the oxygen mask behind your head."

Diana was glad that Batman sounded so calm, the rest of them were in some form of shock or quite literally shaking. J'onn was worse off than any of them had ever been. Lantern had been able to hook him up to a heart monitor and his heartbeat was erratic and dangerously low. His skin was flaking away from his body and pieces of it were black. The perpetual screaming wasn't helping either.

J'onn started shaking and Batman's tone became more urgent, "I need all of the boxes emptied into the tube, NOW." He hooked up the mask to something that definitely wasn't oxygen and then slipped it over J'onn's face.

The boxes contained some kind of thick goo which Shayara and Lantern were scooping into the tube with gutso. Flash kept bringing more, going above and beyond Batman's request for twenty.

"Superman, pick him up," Batman said. Superman didn't hear him, intent on maintaining a steady stream of cold air. Whenever he stopped small flames would lick back up the Martian's side, causing him to scream even harder. "Kent!" Batman shouted. Superman snapped to. "Drop him in the tube now."

Superman did so, leaving J'onn submerged in what resembled a giant tube of toothpaste. The screams finally halted but the shaking continued. Batman adjusted a few dials, "That should at least deal with the physical aspects." He said at last.

It was John was asked, "There's more to this than physical?"

Apparently a League crisis made Batman in a sharing mood, "Martians have a severe reaction to fire because they associate is with mental chaos. Although their skin holds a flame longer they don't burn at a rate faster than you or I. It's a mental block. I'm unaware of what that much fire could have done to J'onn's mind. He and I discussed it but there was never any conclusive evidence."

"And inconclusive evidence?" Wally asked.

"At best he returns to normal," Batman said, "at worst he's never able to use his telepathic powers again. We'll know when he wakes up in a few days."

* * *

><p>"Long day Master Bruce?" Alfred asked that evening, "I see that the BatSuit is charred, problems with a fire?"<p>

"Firefly," Batman said, "It was a trap, he lit up an entire building just to get to J'onn."

"The League murders again sir," Alfred didn't phrase it as a question.

Batman nodded, reviewing what was left of the mall's video footage, "he was waiting here." Batman pointed, "He didn't even come out and fight until it was just him and J'onn. Someone is planning this Alfred. Someone much smarter than Firefly."

Alfred's voice dipped into protective, "I trust you'll take the necessary precautions for yourself sir?"

"Unnecessary," Batman said, "I don't seem to be a target. I've actually been saved from potential death and kept distracted, away from the killzone."

"Just you sir?" Alfred asked, "any special reason?"

"None that I'm aware of," Batman admitted, "but it might not just be me. He pulled up footage of KGBeast in his new cell. The man was screaming, "You better get me out. I could have killed her, but I didn't. You owe me! You better get me out."

"Her, sir?" Alfred queried.

"Diana," Batman said gruffly, "and possibly Superman. Despite Metallo being around he's yet to confront Kent directly, normally I can't keep the two apart."

"Well sir, I don't doubt that you'll figure it out," Alfred said confidently, "will you be waiting up to see Miss Kayla when she arrives home from 'the party scene'?"

Bruce shook his head slightly, "I saw her before she left."

It had been an interesting encounter. He had just gotten back from the Watchtower, still in his burnt and slightly smoking BatSuit. He had gone upstairs and knocked on her door. She'd opened it and stared at him with those hollow eyes.

"Yes?"

He'd just looked at her. He'd had a speech all prepared, written in the back of his head. Something to bring her back, to wipe that look from her eyes, to see it replaced with anything, anger, happiness, revenge, anything. The words wouldn't come.

The only thing he could think of was that spark of memory that Diana's words had ignited. Something his father had said to him when he'd fallen down or had a rough day. Something Alfred had repeated after that day in crime alley.

So he'd put a hand on her shoulder and said the only words he could, "Tomorrow is just a dream away."

And there was something, a small spark, a tiny glimmer of something flashing across her eyes. She'd looked at him, "Alfred said your Dad said that." Then he'd gotten a hug. He'd never been hugged so often in his life.

It wasn't much but it was something.

Alfred dragged him back to the present, "Very well sir. There is however, another matter that we need to discuss. The matter of Miss Kayla's mother."

"I told you Alfred," Bruce snapped slightly, "this topic is not up for debate."

Alfred nodded his head once, "You did say that sir, but perhaps you no longer have a choice. If you would switch the computer to channel 6?"

Bruce raised an eyebrow and did so. A charming news reporter was on speaking to the camera, "For those of you just tuning in we're covering the biggest Gotham social news story of the day. I'm sure most of our viewers have heard of Gotham's newly dubbed Princess, Kayla Wayne," an image of Kayla at her first press conference appeared beside the reporter, "daughter of renowned playboy, Gotham's own Bruce Wayne." The image was replaced by an image of Bruce, two supermodels on his arm. "But the question has always remained, who is the mother? The Wayne's themselves refuse to comment, Kayla claiming that she has no idea and with Bruce being strangely tight-lipped. But somebody has finally come forward." The reporter wagged a finger at the camera, "I know you're all skeptical that this is just a fame grab but we have independent DNA evidence to prove it. Please welcome, all the way from the other side of the world, Miss Talia Al Ghul."

* * *

><p><strong>Bahahaha plot twist! *maniacal laughter*<strong>

**Still, I finally got a BMWW kiss in there. Granted it's not very romantic but it's there! Shoved in the middle of all the funerals and creepy Wallers and injured J'onns…. And yes, Batman's quote from his father was taken from the new Batman 1. **

**FYI we are so close to the big revelation I can almost taste it.**


	24. Knight's Falling

It was three days before J'onn regained consciousness and they could finally remove him from the containment tube. A whirling red blur plucked him smoothly from the goo and deposited the Martian on a nearby hospital bed where Batman was waiting with a set of medical scanners.

"How you doing buddy?" Wally asked softly.

J'onn closed his eyes, "I have been better Flash." Only the beeping of the equipment filled the room, J'onn opened his eyes again, "I suppose you were correct in urging my creation of the Misotonionic Paste Batman."

The Dark Knight didn't turn from his monitors, "I wish that I was not." He paused, "Vitals are stable but only you can determine the state of your telepathy."

"Perhaps another day?" J'onn didn't beg but the implication was there.

Batman turned, "You will be able to monitor yourself from here on. Call if it's important." The infirmary doors slide open as he slipped out. Batman didn't stop at the sight of the crowd gathered outside the door, "He's conscious, you can go in."

"Thank goodness," Superman breathed a sigh of relief and dashed through the door.

John called after Batman, "And his mind?"

"We'll know when he's ready," Batman said gruffly, "I need to get back to Gotham."

Although the rest of the team entered through the stainless doors in the infirmary Diana went after Batman, "Have you found the Joker?"

"No yet." He growled.

She paused and changed the topic, "Any leads on J'onn's attack?"

"The fire burned away most evidence." He paused only to enter something into a nearby computer terminal and then continued on his way to the teleporters, "I've got Oracle on information cross-checking."

Diana reassessed him. Batman gave off the same aura that he always did but tone was haggard, strained, pushed to breaking, "Would you like some help?" She offered, "I still owe you that favour."

"No." He was abrupt.

Diana felt bad for him, he obviously felt responsible for what had happened to J'onn, "The Gotham/Metropolis football game is this afternoon. If you want to go I'm sure Bruce would understand."

"No," he said, keying in his co-ordinates, "I don't have time to rest. Crime doesn't rest, I take a break, and they win."

* * *

><p>The two teens stared at the woman in the kitchen, watching as she sat in the Manor and chatted calmly with Alfred. Talia was striking and gorgeous, her brown hair cut stylishly, dressed to perfection, clearly ready to put on the TV face that had become so popular in Gotham in the last three days. She'd even worked in the same little ticks as Kayla, making her charade ever more convincing. At this moment however, Talia was merely Talia, sitting with Alfred and discussing the best way to sauté.<p>

"Remind me again why Bruce is letting _her_ stay with us?" Kayla muttered.

Tim looked up from where he was washing the Batmobile hubcaps, "What? You're not enjoying your time with your new fake mom?"

Kayla scrubbed at the latest bloodstains on the car's headrest, "Not particularly, spill birdboy."

"Cause if we don't play along Talia exposes the fact that the bloodwork we gave the lab for you and Bruce is fake." Tim stopped and stretched.

Kayla glared at the stains as though she could laserbeam them off, "Her bloodwork is fake too."

"Of course stupid," Tim flicked suds at her with a smile, "but it's way worse if it comes out on our end. Then everyone will want to know what your blood actually is, why you're here, that could get very, very messy."

"Alright then, boy wonder," Kayla taunted, "why is she actually here?"

He shrugged, "with her who knows? Probably something for her father, or there's the off chance that she's here to try and get Bruce again. Woman has an unhealthy obsession with Bruce."

Kayla raised an eyebrow, "Obsession, not love?"

"Hard to say," Tim tossed his sponge into a bucket, "it's not like I have experience in that area. Talia is, misplaced, torn, broken, chose a word."

"Hmmmm," Kayla tossed her rag, "well I suppose as fake mothers with ulterior motives I could have done worse, at least she's interesting. We done here?"

"Fortunately," Tim stretched, "I hate washing this thing and Bruce is OCD with keeping it clean."

Kayla rolled her eyes, "awwww poor baby."

"Come on Kay," he said, "it's my birthday in a week, cut me a break."

She shook her head, "Never."

Tim gave a fake puppy dog face.

"Tell you what," she sighed, "you can have your present early, but you can never make that face again."

His face lit up, "deal!"

She pulled out a FedEx box from beneath the computer, "here."

Tim ripped is open with the exuberance of a small child on Christmas, "Whoa! This is that knife. Where did you get the money for this?"

"Oh you know," Kayla acted nonchalant, "I know this rich, billionaire guy who doesn't know how to talk to teenage girls, bit of a guilt complex, dresses up as a bat, maybe you've heard of him?"

Tim was examining his prize, "It's a possibility. From what I hear the sidekick is better though, devilishly handsome, superb fighter, genius level intellect."

"Humble as crap," Kayla added.

"Naturally," Tim's voice got excited, "check, this out; I was wrong, it's got 99 notches. One more kill and it hits the magic number."

Kayla's eyes flickered, "Uh hang on there bird boy, I'm pretty sure that there's a strict 'no killing policy' in here."

"Please," he said, "I didn't mean it that way. What I meant was that we _saved_ this knife; we can make sure that it never hits 100, no more deaths. Plus it gets to keep its air of mystery, always 99, never 100."

"You can't save inanimate objects," Kayla pointed out, "but I see your point. When's Dick coming around, I need a plan to make him forgive me for the Batgirl motorcycle incident."

Tim was still examining the blade, "later this afternoon. Bruce has that date with Wonder Woman and Alfred's out and about. B didn't want us alone with Talia, as if she could take me."

"Wasn't she trained by the League of Assassins?" Kayla asked.

Tim frowned, "Your point?"

"None, nothing, no point at all…." Kayla trailed off.

"Which is, in and of itself, a point," the unfamiliar voice echoed down the stairs. A quick glance at the monitors indicated the truth; Talia Al Ghul was in the BatCave.

Tim stood instantly, "You shouldn't be down here, Bat members only."

"Then my darling daughter has no place here either," Talia said calmly.

"Fake daughter," Kayla interrupted.

Talia ignored her, "And Timothy," she deposited herself into Bruce's computer chair as though she owned it, "although you are quite skilled you would be no match for me if I did chose to dispatch you." She looked at him calmly, "if you remember Madrid?"

"I've improved since then," Tim protested.

Kayla was curious, "What happened in Madrid?"

"The boys were chasing down my father," Talia said coolly, as though they all had merely met for tea, "Bruce was hit by a special blend of neurotoxin. I saved his life with the antidote but our young Robin believed that I was murdering him. He attempted to stop me, I knocked him out cold in seconds, effectively saving both their lives."

Kayla raised an eyebrow as she observed her brother, "funny how you left that little gem out."

"She's overdoing it," Tim insisted.

Talia ignored him, focusing only on Kayla, "I'm not the enemy here you know. I am, perhaps, your only real ally in getting what is best for everyone."

Tim shook his head, "The last time I heard an Al Ghul talking about what was best for everyone it involved genocide."

"What if I'm not concerned about _everyone_," Kayla too ignored Tim, "what if my concerns are more specific."

Talia raised an eyebrow and leaned back in the chair, "that seems unlikely. You're just not seeing the bigger picture yet."

"And you are?" Kayla countered, "Care to share mother dearest?" Her sarcasm was still alive and well as she consciously drew herself up and straightened her shoulders.

Bruce's voice was dry, "Nice to see everyone is getting along." Batman strode over to the computer, "My chair, move."

Talia stood immediately, "Beloved, I trust everything is in order at the Watchtower?"

"As well as can be expected," Batman wasn't doing anything on the screen, apparently he'd just wanted his chair, "how much longer will you persist in this charade Talia?"

She cracked her neck, "Not much longer Beloved, are you that anxious to be rid of me?"

He didn't answer that, "Find what you were looking for then?"

"I don't think it ever existed," she said, then dipped into a seductive air, "unless of course you're giving me a reason to stay."

Tim made gagging noises. Kayla mimed puking. They grinned at each other.

Bruce didn't seem fazed, "give my regards to your father. I hear Paris is lovely right now."

"This isn't about my father," Talia looked hurt, "I came here for us, Beloved, to meet your daughter, to be a part of your family."

"There isn't an us Talia," Batman could have just as easily been ordering a sandwich for all of the emotion he was showing, "there's my family and I and then there's you and your father. There is no intersection and there never will be."

Talia almost hissed, "Never is a long time Beloved, this is about her isn't it?" There was a vague gesture in Kayla's direction.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tim recognized Bruce's tone. In one of their brief father-son bonding moments that didn't involve violence Bruce had mentioned different escapes in a conversation with women; this one involved playing dumb. Tim smirked in remembrance at the others, regardless of what Bruce said he didn't think 'knock the girl out and run' was ever a viable strategy in a healthy relationship…. Not that Bruce had healthy relationships.

"I certainly hope not," Talia's voice was the perfect politician's, gentle and dangerous at the same time, "this," again the wave at Kayla, "is one thing, _that_ would be another. We still have a future Beloved."

Batman stood, "If by a future you mean that we will continue to exist forward in time, I would agree, otherwise we've reached an impasse." He walked past her and then turned back, "anything else you need to get off your chest?"

It was her turn to stride past him, "I'll be gone by this evening, don't worry I'll take care of the press for you Beloved." Despite the cool façade there was definitely moisture in her eyes, "Despite your feelings for me I still care for you."

* * *

><p>"Come on guys," a plainclothes Shayara pulled a Green Lantern and Wonder Woman towards the stadium entrance, "We're going to be late."<p>

John took in the Thanagarian before him; she was wearing a Metropolis Kings football jersey with holes sliced in the back for her wings, no mace though so he figured it was safe to comment, "Calm down Shayara, we've got plenty of time."

"Not if you're buying me a foam finger," she shot back, "and you are buying me a foam finger aren't you? After all, I got the tickets and isn't the Earth custom that the man pays for the date?"

He gulped, "A foam finger? Sure, sure, why not…" He meandered off to go find one.

Diana grabbed Shayara's arm and whispered in her ear, "Bruce gave you those tickets free of charge."

"Yupp," her eyes sparkled, "but I want a foam finger and I'm not exactly rolling in cash. It's good for John to sweat. He should have asked me out again weeks ago, I should not have had to ask him, so if I want a foam finger, I'm getting a foam finger." Shayara scanned the crowd and almost knocked over a couple of kids with her wings, "when's your rich and famous boy toy getting here?"

"He is not my boy toy," Diana hissed.

The pleasant tenor echoed behind them, "I'm okay with being your boy toy Princess." They turned to find Bruce Wayne grinning his grin at them. "Princess, Wings," he actually managed to grab Shayara's hand long enough to kiss her knuckles.

"Pretty boy," she shot back.

"Bruce," Diana looked worried, "Shayara was just ki-"

Bruce shook his head slightly, "Don't worry about it Princess."

John chose that moment to return, a foam finger clutched in a death grip, "Some drunk bozo thought he could just take this off…" he trailed off when he noticed Bruce and that he was still holding both women's hands. "John Stewart." He stuck out a hand, John's air immediately possessive as he moved closer to Shayara. She was trying not to look thrilled.

Diana thought she saw something flick through Bruce's eyes but he merely extended a hand, "Bruce Wayne, pleasure to meet another hero." He chuckled, "I seem to be collecting heroic acquaintances like playing cards."

John looped his arm around Shayara's waist, she tried to look annoyed, "Well you missed the motherload when we crashed your house, the League greatly appreciates your generosity."

Wayne smirked, "While thanks are always appreciated I'm sure you won't be offended if I'm most excited about the Princess's thank you."

Diana pushed him back gently with a smile, "Just the football game Bruce."

"As you wish," he said gallantly as they made their way towards the seats, "on one condition."

Wonder Woman raised an eyebrow, "You'd presume to command royalty Mr. Wayne?"

He shrugged lightly, "I am the apparent prince of Gotham." His eyes dared her to argue, "you've just got to promise me that you're cheering for the right team." He tossed her a Gotham Knight's jersey.

She eyed it hesitantly, it looked big enough to dwarf even her Amazon frame, "And you're not wearing your team colours Bruce?"

"Well you've got my jersey Princess but…"Without further ado he pulled out a ballcap from his pocket and plunked it on his head, "Your turn Princess."

She shook her head but pulled it on, "I'm surprised you showed up at all with the amount of news coverage you've been getting recently."

They took their seats, "And miss you Princess?" Bruce sounded shocked, "never. Besides," he added, "Talia never was Kayla's mother. We had a relationship once upon a time but this was just another desperate grab for attention. The new update should be coming out any time now."

Diana nodded, "It must be hard though."

"Having ladies desperate to get my attention?" He shrugged, "I can certainly think of moments when it comes in handy." He winked.

Diana took it in stride and ignored him, "Sure," she agreed, his face fell slightly. "If you really are nothing but the playboy."

"Ah," He leaned back in his seat, "so you think that there's a secret layer to me do you?"

She shrugged, "There'd have to be. You can't be all girls and glitter Bruce."

"Glitter?" He looked offended, "I have never worn glitter in my life. A few weeks ago Kayla bedazzled one of my jackets without telling me and I accidently wore it for an afternoon but," he paused for emphasis, "I have never worn glitter."

Diana laughed at the image of Bruce in a bedazzled jacket, "I meant your whole life Bruce, it's covered in glitter. You know, what reporters call glitz and glimmer."

"Don't go digging to far Princess," he warned, "you may not like what you find."

"Living a secret double life?" She teased.

He shook his head, "But of course, I'm secretly Superman." He looked around conspiringly, "Shhhhhhh don't tell anyone my secret identity."

"Hey pretty boy," Shayara called over, "our bet still on?"

"Of course Wings," he folded his arms cockily, "I expect full payment when I win."

"Likewise," she copied his pose, foam finger slightly impeding her ability to do so.

* * *

><p>After a while Diana got into it. In fact all four were on their feet with the crowd yelling their encouragements at the field as though they could actually help the players.<p>

Suddenly Shayara swore, "What?" John asked, never taking his eyes off the field, "The Kings recovered their fumble."

"I've got to pee."

John's response, "just hold it."

"I can't, Thanagarians biologically have smaller bladders, keeps us light." Shayara looked like she wanted to murder her bladder for being tiny.

"So go pee," Bruce put in.

Shayara gestured at the crowd, "I can't go alone, I'll get accosted."

"I'll go with you," Diana said after a beat.

Bruce kept his eyes on the Knights but reached into his back pocket and passed Diana a wallet, "Since you're going out, buy me a hotdog? And whatever you want." He was quick to add.

Diana was about to protest at being delegated to 'food-gatherer' but Shayara pulled her away.

"Women," John scoffed, "You don't leave football to pee."

Bruce chuckled, "Tell me about it."

Diana looked at the usually fight-ready Thanagarian, "Why are we letting them get away with that?"

"Two reasons," Shayara navigated them through the crowd, "One – I really have to pee. Two – Bruce Wayne just gave you his wallet and told you to buy whatever you want. You don't pass that up."

Diana looked at the black leather case in her hand, "Shy, we cannot do that."

"Let me see that," She plucked it out of Diana's hand and rummaged through it, coming out with what appeared to be a few hundreds.

"Shayara Hol," Diana said in her best imitation of her mother.

"Hold that thought," Shayara ducked into a conveniently located bathroom.

She reappeared in ten minutes.

"Long enough?" Diana was slightly exasperated by this point; drunk, hairy men kept hitting on her.

Shayara shrugged, "It's a woman's washroom. They're all cursed with long lines. Let's get those hotdogs. I don't want to miss the halftime show. They're always super corny."

She was right. After returning with a plethora of hotdogs and nachos the four fans sat down to watch the halftime show. There was a marching band. A couple of rows won free food. Some kind got to go on the field and throw a football. The audience did the wave.

Diana had never done the wave before and could not get the timing right. Always getting overzealous and pre-empting the movement, Bruce found this hilarious.

Then they brought out the kiss camera and low and behold, the gods were feeling contrary, it eventually came to land on the stadium's most famous occupants. Shayara had apparently expected this and had literally tackled John to the ground to ensure that only Bruce and Diana were caught in the camera's gaze.

Diana blushed and waved off the camera, Bruce grinned at the screen, the crowd started chanting, "Kiss him, Kiss him, Kiss him."

He tapped her on the shoulder, "They're not going to leave us alone Princess."

"We can outwait them," she protested, "I won't be a spectacle for their entertainment."

Shayara hissed up at them, "The camera won't move till you kiss him Di, I paid the camera guys 300 bucks to make sure he catches you two on film. Why? Because it's hilarious."

"It's got to be better press then your dance with Luthor," Bruce pointed out, "Don't worry Princess, I'm a perfect gentlemen."

"You better be," she warned him. Then shaking her head at the camera in 'fond exasperation' she let him lean in.

He tasted like mint. That was unexpected, she'd expected, well, alcohol or even hotdog, but there was a minty taste. He moved softly and slowly, letting her get comfortable, not pushing her anywhere. Taking nothing but promising more, leaving the decision in her hands. His lips were soft but there was a faint brush of stubble on his chin as though he hadn't had time to fully shave. Then without warning, he pulled back, brushed one more kiss softly across her lips and waved at the camera. The only presumption he'd taken the entire time was the way his hand had somehow snaked its way into hers.

He hadn't lied, it was a gentleman's kiss.

Bruce smiled warmly at her, "Thankyou for that Princess," then his grin became more the playboy, "and thankyou Shayara for that unexpected pleasure."

She was grinning at the two of them, "Don't thank me, I used your money. Di, I can't believe you bought that it took me 10 minutes to go to the bathroom."

The play restarted and they were drawn back into the game.

Finally Diana had to say something, "You can let go of my hand now Bruce." He ignored her, "Bruce, you can let go of my hand."

He finally turned to look at her, "well now hold your horses Princess, don't get too excited."

She finally just peeled his fingers away, immediately submerging her hand in the nachos. She decided to try his game, "It takes a lot more then holding _your_ hand to get me excited."

He took her to school, "Well I am sorry Princess, but it wouldn't be appropriate to do more here."

* * *

><p>The Knights won. Bruce was crowing, Shayara looked ready to pound something. Diana laughed and shook her head, knowing that all she would hear about in coming days was how the Kings should not have been given the last foul. All four went out to dinner where Bruce insisted on paying, it wasn't until late in the evening that Bruce finally said,<p>

"Time to pay up Wings."

She sighed, "Fine."

Snapping his fingers in a true 'rich and fabulous' fashion a waiter immediately appeared at the table, package in hand. Bruce passed it to Shayara.

She pulled out a Gotham Knights jersey and Bruce returned to his gloating face, "Remember Wings, you've got to wear that for a full week. Princess I'm trusting you to make sure that she follows through."

Shayara grumbled and started to stuff the shirt into her bag. Bruce waved a finger, "Ah now Wings, your week starts now."

Shayara stared at him for a moment, narrowed her eyes, huffed and then switched jerseys. She looked down at herself and huffed again, "Happy pretty boy?"

Bruce pretended to observe the situation around him, "Why yes, yes I am."

His phone rang. Nodding an apology Bruce answered it, his eyes narrowed and then his face lightened again. "John, Ladies, I'm afraid I'm going to have to call it a night, duty calls you know."

"Trouble at Wayne Industries?" Diana asked as Bruce dropped cash on the table.

He nodded, apparently more or less unconcerned, "Same old, same old, still they need a real Wayne signing stuff."

His limo was there by the time they got to the curb, "Princess, Wings, John, it was a pleasure. Thank you for your company, I'd welcome you back to Gotham sometime but you've mentioned Batman's distaste for you. But if you ever feel like circumventing the vexing man, feel free to call. Keep wearing the jersey Wings." He smiled at her, shook John's hand, muttered the word softly "Princess" with a loaded smile and then hopped into the waiting car which immediately zipped away.

"What's the situation Alfred?" Bruce immediately descended into Batman, "Where are they?"

Alfred was driving the limo as fast as he could go without attracting more attention than a law-breaking playboy would merit, "I can't pick them up on the scanners sir. I wasn't even aware there was a problem until Miss Gordon called to ask me why no-one was answering the Manor phone. As you know I was with Leslie."

"Approximate time frame?" Batman asked.

Alfred rattled off the relevant data, "Barbara called at 6, I did a scan at 6:20 and picked up Master Richard's unconscious body at 6:30. I left him in the cave, he should regain consciousness soon. Miss Talia made a press statement detailing that she is not Kayla's mother at 2:33. I have not been in contact with Master Timothy or Miss Kayla since I left at 2."

Bruce tensed, he should have seen this coming, he knew he shouldn't have left them alone. Now, undoubtedly, Talia had Tim and Kayla who knows where for who knows what.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry the update took so long, new job = actual work<strong>

**Thanks for all the love! I was going to keep the Talia/mother story going farther but I just couldn't do it. I did what I needed for further in but I couldn't even bear to write about Talia being Kayla's mom….. **

**Confession, I've never been to a football game so I made it up. I've been to baseball games though, they have kiss cams there so I rolled with it.**


	25. Worth It

"Barbara," Batman shouted, "I need that airport footage now."

Twenty five hours had passed since Alfred had alerted Bruce to Tim and Kayla's disappearance; Bruce, Dick, Barbara and Alfred had been camped out in the Batcave ever since, leaving only to interrogate people whom they thought might know something.

"Here," Barbara tossed the footage to Dick. He tossed it to Batman and then turned back to the files on the Al Ghuls.

Alfred was watching footage of Gotham harbour, "Sir, I do not believe that Miss Talia used the docks for transportation."

Batman nodded, it had been a long shot, "Take over for Dick, he's going back out to pound the pavement." Nightwing nodded, "I'm going down to Arkham to get that skuzzball to sing, keep in touch. We don't need any more disappearances."

"Who disappeared?" Kayla's voice carried worry. All four heads turned.

Barbara's eyebrows were in her hairline, "Kayla?" Alfred and Bruce were already beside her.

"Are you all right Miss?" Alfred asked, already checking her over for injuries.

At the same time Bruce demanded, "What happened?"

Dick's voice called up, "Where's Tim?"

"Tim's gone?" Kayla's eyes were wide, "What? What happened? Talia and I went out to talk, partied in Metropolis and then she left. Tim knew that I was going. You thought I was gone?"

Bruce's voice was urgent, "You're absolutely sure that Tim wasn't with you?"

She shook her head, "Talia and I went to have a girl's day, talk about you, overprotective fathers, being trained, Cadmus, Lazarus Pits, since she seems to know the whole deal anyway. We left around 3, I think. Tim was fine, he didn't want me to go alone but he was fine." Worry had flooded her face, "What the hell happened to him?"

Batman turned back to the screens, "We still can't rule Talia out, it could have been a diversion."

"It wouldn't be the first time," Dick said angrily.

Oracle went in a different direction, "But if it wasn't Talia who was it? The Joker is still on the run."

Batman shook his head, "The Robin suit's still here, whoever took him knew he was Tim Drake."

Dick crossed his arms, "That narrows the list at least, I want to look into Selina, I've got a score to settle there."

"It wasn't Selina," Bruce sounded certain.

Dick raised his voice and it echoed off the cave, "We can't take chances on that."

"Dick, calm down," Barbara's voice was sharp, a hint of hysteria, "we all want Tim back. Someone needs to look into Waller too."

"I'll do it," The rich girl jacket came off as Kayla volunteered, "I know Waller better than anyone."

Dick wasn't having it, "Yeah? Actually I'll buy that. But just that, you reek kid, you reek like Cadmus, of spy, you reek of Waller. And how do we know that you're not in on this whole thing? Or on the League murders? Shit didn't hit the fan until you showed up Two."

Kayla flinched at the number but persevered, "Because you need another able body and unless you're calling in the League I'm the best you've got. There's no lost love between Waller and me." She met Nightwing toe to toe, "I'm not losing another brother."

"Everybody be quiet," Batman's voice rang out, "this is not helping Tim. Dick get out there, find Selina she can be an extra set of eyes. I'm going to speak to those boys who knocked Nightwing out, then Bruce Wayne will get on the airways in case this happens to be a conventional rich-kid kidnapping and not Batman related. Alfred I want you tracking Ra's down despite Kayla's vouch for Talia. Kayla, Waller. Oracle, everything else. I want eyes everywhere, cameras on. Leave the League out. This family protects its own, we're getting our boy back."

* * *

><p>"Check this out," Shayara's voice ran out before her as she entered the Watchtower's monitor room. Two magazines and newspapers landed on the console beside Diana, "You made the news again. Actually you made lots of news; this is just a smattering of my favourites."<p>

Diana let her eyes flicker over the covers, all featured a story about her and Bruce, "It's better than the pictures with Luthor," she said at last finally coming to focus on the newly famous kiss.

"Oh don't worry," Shayara reassured her, "that's in here too." She flipped open one of the magazines, "They compare and contrast the two men for you, Luthor actually wins. Then they place bets on which rich boy you'll date next, apparently the smart money is on Oliver Queen from Star City."

Diana rolled her eyes, "Bruce is twice the man Luthor is."

"How about compared to Batman?" Shayara's latest hobby had become teasing Diana.

Wonder Woman returned to scanning for potential disasters, "The two are incomparable. Besides Batman hasn't been seen for more than a week."

Shayara nodded returning slightly to work mode, "This is a long time to hang low, even for him. Think we should check in? You know him best after all."

Diana raised an eyebrow in disagreement, "We'll give him a few more days. He's still sensitive about Gotham. He's been tolerant so far but let's not press our luck."

"What about Wayne?" Shayara asked, "You could go to visit him and track down Batman, isn't his kid missing?"

Diana nodded, "I told him I could come help search but he insisted that the League maintain full strength for world-wide issues, he seemed confident that the GCPD would find him."

Shayara scoffed, "Those idiots? Unlikely, more likely is he's already got Batman searching for him."

"You think they're connected?" Diana's face light up slightly, Shayara didn't pick up on it.

"Naw," she shuffled her wings slightly, "but with all the time we've spent in his company Batman has to be keeping an eye on him." Diana nodded absently, "Don't forget Di," Shayara added, "meeting tonight." Then she wandered out again.

* * *

><p>Diana pulled back up the screens she'd been looking at, not all of them were footage of Earth. She'd been slowly developing a theory, piecing it together in the week that passed since her date with Bruce. It was crazy, it was insane, it was impossible and yet she was starting to convince herself that it was true.<p>

Bruce Wayne was Batman.

Looking at it quickly the idea seemed impossible, the playboy prince of Gotham secretly being its dark protector? She'd dismissed the idea, but it wouldn't leave her alone. Bruce was the right build, the right height, lived in the right city and had enough money. And then there was the kiss, or kisses. First in the Watchtower and then at the football game, the latter had been familiar, not identical but similar. Certainly not in style or taste, in fact the Batman kiss had hardly been a kiss at all but they'd felt the same. Somehow despite being polar opposites they fit together, the same jaw, the same subtle motions, his hand on her arm, the smell. It was distinct, she couldn't quite place it. The Batman one was mixed with Kevlar and sweat, Bruce Wayne's with cologne, but super-senses didn't lie. They were similar.

She'd called herself crazy. Then after three nights doing nothing but pondering the possibility she'd finally dug deeper. She went into Bruce Wayne's history, most of which was available on the internet. After digging through dozens of pages referencing his playboy activities she landed on one detailing his charity work. That wasn't sinister, she'd told herself, most rich people work with charities. But the sheer number and amounts detailed a man who was being generous for more than a tax break; still Diana decided it was nothing. She'd already known that he was nicer then the word 'playboy' would suggest.

She'd gone farther back in time, hitting an article mentioning how Gotham's Prince had returned from a five year world tour. Despite spending a day on it she couldn't figure out where he went. That was when alarm bells outside of her intuition had started ringing. They'd all known that Batman had extensive training; this could have been the time he'd done it in.

She'd flipped over to a page called 'Wayne Watch' which gave extensive personal information on 'the little Waynes'. Richard Grayson, Bruce's oldest adopted son. Tim Drake, the young boy they'd met at the Manor. Kayla Wayne, there was a large portion of the site dedicated to her. She'd laughed to herself then, Batman wouldn't have family. She'd closed off her search.

Only to rush back to the computer console at lunch the next day when Robin had popped into her head. She immediately started comparing images of Tim Drake to the young boy they'd met on the rooftop, similar height, similar build, black hair, it wasn't proof but it didn't disprove anything either. Then she'd sought out Superman as he'd known Batman longest,

"Kal," she'd cornered him in the training room, "what do you know about Batman before he joined the League?"

The Man of Steel had smiled fondly, "Not much, did you know that the first time we met he threw me out a window? Knowing full well that I had superpowers?"

"That's nice," Diana interrupted him fully focused on her task, "what about Robin? Did he have Robin when you met him?"

Clark looked taken aback by Diana's abruptness, "Uh well yeah. Different uniform though, I remember wondering why anyone would want to fight crime with bare legs."

"So it wasn't the same one as now?" Diana pressed.

Superman eyed her, "Probably not, he'd be too old for the boy we saw. Looked similar though, same black hair but more agile. What are you up to Diana?"

"Just digging," She said, being intentionally vague, "gives me something to do besides worrying about J'onn."

He nodded, "I've been doing the same thing, writing notes, mind maps, takes the mind off of the big problems. Let me know if you figure anything out."

"If I've got facts I'll let you know," she said, not wanting to air her suspicions.

She'd immediately pounced back on the computer looking for a photo of Richard Grayson, the boy matched Superman's description. Even the 'agile' comment could be verified when she uncovered that Richard had been a circus performer before Bruce adopted him. Kayla Wayne was a lose end. Unlike Robin(s) there were pictures of Batgirl and her hair was clearly red and even the second Batgirl they'd met had black hair, Kayla's was brown. So perhaps Kayla wasn't involved in crime fighting after all, Diana reasoned, she was new to the family and seemed even less suited to the task than Bruce.

The biggest thing she was missing was motivation. Why would Bruce Wayne want to be Batman? And conversely why would Batman ever act like Bruce Wayne? Those questions were eluding her. She was sure that if Bruce was Batman there would be something to set him on that path, but the more she dug the more it appeared that if this 'motivation' did exist it wasn't listed on the internet.

She clicked aimlessly around, checking out links that hardly even seemed related to Bruce. Diana found herself on a page detailing the life of Bruce's mother, Martha Wayne. She skimmed through it absently, wondering why Bruce had never mentioned his parents. Her eyes keyed in on the end 'tragically murdered'.

Immediately 'Wayne murder' went into the search bar, she'd missed this because none of the tags involved Bruce. The scene that played out before her made the story clear. Bruce had watched his parents get murdered by a Gotham thug when he was eight years old. That was the motivation for Bruce Wayne becoming Batman, avenging his parents. Diana squinted at the thought, vengeance wasn't right. Vengeance doesn't bring with it the strict rules that Batman had. Diana sat back in the Watchtower chair and considered it, taking almost fifteen minutes before she hit on the answer. He was trying to be the man that he wished had been there for his 8 year old self. He was protecting Gotham's 8 year old boys, trying to ensure that they never knew his pain. Diana's heart broke slightly for the young Bruce Wayne.

She pressed onward, if Bruce Wayne was Batman then why would Batman bother with the playboy attitude? She couldn't see him enjoying it. There was the flaw, just because Wayne had the motivation to be Batman doesn't mean he _was_ Batman. She could buy that Bruce Wayne might be Batman but was having trouble with the reverse. Why did Batman need Bruce Wayne? For his money certainly, but he could get that without playing up his image. He genuinely liked it? Diana couldn't believe that. To honour his parents? That seemed Batman's job and a playboy seemed hardly the man to make the philanthropist parents proud. Why not be a good man, a grounded man in both lives? Why the cruel streak to Batman? Why the nonchalant attitude of Bruce Wayne?

Diana ground her teeth in frustration, minimizing the web pages in front of her and returning to the news sites that she was supposed to be monitoring. An image of Bruce Wayne imploring kidnappers for the return of his son met her, he looked worn down, exhausted. Then it clicked.

He didn't have powers. If someone came after him or his family he couldn't fly them away. There was power in his anonymity. He, perhaps more than any of them, needed a secret identity.

Robin's words of advice on the rooftop rang clear, "Just remember that he's the World's Greatest Detective, remember that he is Batman." He was Batman. He knew better then to make his secret identity a reflection of himself, he couldn't afford to be a marine, a reporter, a forensic investigator. It would be ideal for his work, for getting more clues but that wasn't important.

He was the world's greatest detective and with that came a certain level of thinking. Batman didn't battle men with strength, he battled them with his mind, with illusions. Bruce Wayne was an illusion, a smokescreen. At that level the best option became the second best option. The best option was too obvious for anyone with the same intellect. It had worked on the League. The best option for Batman would be a 'job in justice', that's exactly where people would look for him, so he had to be where they'd never imagine. He had to make the two men polar opposites.

Diana stared, not sure what to do with this information. She couldn't flat out confront him, she had no proof. The League wouldn't understand, after all they hadn't kissed Batman or Bruce, which was what had set her on the trail in the first place. And then there was the matter of the kidnapping, Diana found it hard to believe that if Bruce was Batman that anyone would be able kidnap Robin.

She shook her head, knowing that she was going to drive herself in circles. Diana acted on impulse picking up the phone. Unsurprisingly no-one picked up at the Manor so she left a message, careful in case she was wrong, "Bruce, it's Diana. I hope everything's alright, my offer still stands. We need to talk. Call me." Then she whispered the word into the phone "Batman." She knew it would come out as nearly incomprehensible on the other hand. If Wayne was just Wayne he'd shrug and call but if Wayne was Batman Diana knew that he'd run the recording through a device of some kind to figure out the word.

She left it in his hands for now. Diana had a League meeting to go to and a rare headache to try and get rid of.

* * *

><p>After ten minutes they gave up on Batman making an appearance and began the meeting. Superman had an extremely exciting agenda planned that included Watchtower monitor duty scheduling, people (Flash) sneaking beer onto the Watchtower and his general reoccurring rant about Luthor. Diana didn't hear a word of it, as hard as she was trying to focus her mind wouldn't have any of it. It was too busy considering the Bruce Wayne is Batman possibility. She wasn't alone; although her train of thought was unique four of the six in attendance at the meeting were there in body only, thoughts elsewhere.<p>

They were dragged abruptly back to reality when something burst through the closed conference room doors. The doors swung back with enough force to leave indents of the handles in the walls. Batman had returned.

He didn't stop. He didn't walk. He didn't run. He blasted. Batman blasted right across the room, grabbing Superman mid-monologue and flinging the Man of Steel against the Watchtower wall.

Batman didn't give anyone time to get over their surprise. He didn't speak. He didn't growl. He roared the words, "Are you happy now Kent? Are you? Was it worth it? Was it worth it?" The edge of the cowl was almost touching Superman's nose Batman was so close.

The League had leapt to their feet, Superman beginning to push Batman back concerned that this wasn't Batman but an intruder.

He didn't give them a chance to move or doubt, "Command override – Gamma025

159854 1565115 5547 KQUV, initiation creator, lockdown." The security measures that the League had agreed to in case they needed to be contained slammed down, locking them in the room. Batman hadn't even turned his head.

Superman suddenly slumped against the wall, a tell-tale hint of green glowing in Batman's palm, "Did you get what you wanted Kent? Was it worth it? I took you for naïve _Superman_" even shouted his words carried a bite, "but not a moron. Turns out you're worse than even that."

The League was moving towards Batman, eager to attack but knowing that when dealing with Batman there had to be some kind of plan. They wanted to put some kind of trust in the man, and he hadn't tried to kill anyone yet. If it even was Batman.

J'onn's voice in their head confirmed, "It is Batman." His mental voice was weak, drained but present.

Batman shoved Superman to the ground, "You don't even know do you Kent? No idea what you've done. Blissfully ignorant. Superior. Can't be bothered with the comings and goings of us mortals." He turned on the rest of the League, "None of you can. We're just entertainment to you. A way to pass the time, someone to fawn on you, tell you how powerful you are."

Wally walked towards him, slowly for once, hands in the air, "Hey now Bats, Batman, why don't you calm down there and tell us what's going on? We don't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me?" Batman's head whirled and the speedster found himself caught by more than the usual glare, this was anger. This wasn't Bats, this was more than Batman, this was a wraith, "Don't want to hurt me? I don't care about me, you almost killed him. You exposed him, your carelessness West, you treat this like a game, you all do. You play superhero. You don't know the pain, you don't have a cause. You do this because you can, because you'll get bored. And you destroyed them. You _destroyed_ them." The shout was gone now, this new tone was worse. It was cold, harsh but not calculating. This was a Batman fueled not by logic but by anger.

Shayara edged towards the console; although she didn't know much about Earth technology she was willing to bet that being hit by her mace wasn't good for it. A bat-a-rang stopped her path, winging close enough to slice off a chunk of her hair. She turned on him, mace held high.

"Look Batman," she said, "I don't know where you've been or what happened but clearly something is wrong with you. Someone's in your head. Now sit down and let us help you or I'll have to beat it out of you."

He didn't look fazed by her threat, he was already too far gone, "Go ahead, someone already tried. Thanks to you, thanks to the League, thanks to your stupidity."

Diana pulled back from her intended assault, actually looking the man over, "Everybody stop," she said more calmly then she felt. Batman had never looked worse. His uniform was quite literally falling apart, large patches gone altogether. The cape was missing the bottom two thirds, his belt looked nearly empty. Worst was the blood, he was covered in it, drenched all down the front of his uniform and his left arm hung at an awkward angle, as though broken. There was a wound across his chest that was bleeding sluggishly. "Batman," Diana continued softly, "let's get you to the medical room."

His head jerked up from where he'd been watching Superman struggle to regain his feet despite the Kryptonite being safety encased again, "No," the shout growled, "you need to understand what you did. I need to know if it was worth it. You need to be held accountable."

"We didn't do anyt-" John started.

Batman cut him off, "Didn't do anything?" A few quick pushes on the console and images started flashing across the screen. "You did this," there was an image of Wally talking to a group of teenagers from Gotham High. "And this" an image of John and J'onn talking in a café in Gotham. "And this," images of Diana and Shayara on their dates with Bruce Wayne flicked by. Batman was getting more agitated with each one.

"I don't see the problem" Flash whispered.

Batman caught him, "And that's the problem West, you weren't careful. You even openly flaunted what you were doing," his voice deepened dangerously, "you were searching for Batman." All the images lit the screens and in each one an individual was highlighted, the same man across a dozen images always watching the League. "And then there's this." Batman wasn't finished.

A small notebook was flung across the room and pinged Superman in the chest, he picked it up, "This is Clark Kent's notebook." Then his face paled, "where did you get this."

"From the Riddler," Batman was anger again, "The Riddler was following you for weeks, knowing you were the League, knowing you were looking for me." It was easy to see his heartrate was increasing, blood pumped more freely from his chest wound, "And you laid out everything you knew about me in a notebook and _left it lying around your apartment. _Do you know where my files were on you? In the Batcave computer, with encryptions that would take years to break with a self-destruct sequence. You handed Gotham's underbelly my secret identity._"_

"But I don't even know your-" Superman started.

"Well he's smarter then you are. You had all the pieces, just not the brains to put it together." The words would have hurt it they weren't feeling afraid of what had happened. "Do you know what I've been through because of you? Do you know what my family's been through because of you? Because of all of you? Do you know what's going to happen to us?" It was a rhetorical question, "Congratulations you're about to find out."

"Batman," Superman looked like death, "I'm so sorry."

"I don't want your apologizes Kent. I want you to feel everything I've felt, I want you to know what you've done. I want you do decide if it was worth it. I don't want your pathetic sorrys, they mean nothing, they fix nothing, they change nothing. You can't fix this so you're going to sure as hell be aware of the costs. Do you know what they did? Never mind knowing my identity, never mind putting everyone I care about in future risk." The voice was dark, "they took Robin. They took him for a week. They tortured him, a sixteen year old boy. They went into his head and warped his mind. They destroyed him, and it's your fault. They tortured my son because of you. I may never get him back; the world may never get any of them back."

The League was silent as his implications sunk in, faces in shock, stuck in various positions about the room. Batman wasn't finished. He reached up with his good arm and the cowl fell from his head. There were cuts across his face, one black eye, bags under the other and a broken nose. But he was still quite clearly Bruce Wayne. The eyes that met theirs were not the happy go lucky playboy's, they were eyes that accused, demanded. They were worse than the cowl.

"Bruce," Diana breathed the word unable to even care that she'd been proven right.

His words came slow as they gawked, "Was It Worth It"

* * *

><p>The room darkened and a video began to flash across the screen. They were in a warehouse of some kind, cameras mounted in the ceiling small Js in the corner of the screen. Tied in the center of the room was a man dressed in green and covered in the question marks, The Riddler. Batman charged into the room and threw the bound man backwards, chair and all.<p>

"Where is he?" Batman shouted, "Where is Robin? Where is the Joker?"

The duct tape was forcibly pulled from the man's mouth and he winced. Then he looked up at Batman, the terror evident in his face, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I never should have gotten mixed up with him." A slightly fiendish look took over, "but it was the ultimate question. The great search. The ultimate riddle. Finding the League was easy, but you. You were tricky, but they lead me there."

Batman didn't care, "Where is he?"

"Looking for me?" There was a fiendish cackle, "Brucie boy?" The Riddler was immediately forgotten as the clown in the purple suit took center stage.

A bat-a-rang winged past his head. The Joker twirled slightly to avoid it, managing to stay perched on a pile crates. Looking down at Batman he waved a finger in the air, "Now, now old friend. Careful you could hurt someone with those, and after I went to all that trouble to get to know the real you." The grin never faltered, "I even hired my own private investigator," there was a vague gesture at the Riddler, "I had to pull out all the stops for you, _Brucie_."

"Where is Robin?" Batman asked, scanning the situation, calculating how long it would take Nightwing to get here from across town. Too long, was the conclusion.

Joker scratched his head, "Robin? I'm sorry I'm afraid that I don't know of this Robin character. They're devilishly tricky though, you should get a birdcage. Hang onto your stuff better." The grin mocked him, "And speaking of poultry, I'd duck."

A metal beam crashed overhead and Batman dropped and rolled to avoid it. Then Joker pushed off the box he was standing on sending the whole pile onto the Dark Knight, "Uh oh Bats," he said leaning over the pile, "I'd have thought you'd come more prepared. Can't give into silly things like anger, where's that lovable, logical Bat we all know and love?"

With a roar Batman emerged from the pile, arm twisted. "Ah, ah ah," The Joker was skipping backwards, "too slow, too slow." The boxes exploded, obviously prefilled to the Joker's specifications.

Batman however was not deterred, using the cover of the smoke he managed to make his way up behind the Joker. His uniform was smoking, the cape was actually on fire but Batman didn't care. "Where is Robin?" He roared, grabbing the Joker by his lapels Batman pummeled him in the face.

The clown just laughed, "I'm sorry he's not in right now, can I take a message or would you like to try his new office?"

A small shard of metal pressed against the Joker's jugular, "What did you do to him." Batman pressed.

"Now, now, now," the clown grinned, "None of that now Bats. We both know that you don't have _that_ in you. You would have done it years ago, don't want to ruin your streak now would you?"

Batman just pressed harder, "Where is he?"

"Kill me" the Joker's eyes were narrowed, his grin still present, "Kill me Bats or you'll never get to see Robbie again. I did awful things to him Bats, I deserve it, avenge little Timmy." The Joker's tone mocked.

Batman tensed, staring hard at the man before him, bat-a-rang still pressed up against his neck. He pressed harder and a thin line of red appeared amidst the white make-up.

"Did you know Bruce," the Joker whispered, "that your little boy screamed like a girl, and then squealed like thug? Told me everything I didn't already know."

Batman's fingers twitched once, the internal war in his head still not indicated on his face but obvious nonetheless. Then the hand on Jokers lapel flew up and cracked the man upside the chin and sending the clown up in the air and then kneeling before Batman's feet, "Where is he?" Batman roared again.

"Tut, tut, tut," Joker pushed himself up from the ground, ignoring his now cracked jaw, "Don't say I didn't warn you Brucie. Heh Hehe, Brucie. It would be nice to actually call you by your name if it didn't mean I knew that you dressed up like a crazy man for such stupid reasons. Little boy crying cause Mommy and Daddy were killed? Pathetic Brucie. What would they say knowing how you just let down little Timmy like that?"

The Joker was still trying to push himself up. Batman moved in to once again yank the man up by his lapels but a flash of steel stopped his path. Joker had sliced him clean across the chest, a deep wound, probably fatal if left unchecked. Batman couldn't help reflex, he stumbled backwards. A second knife sliced through his back, between his ribs.

Harley Quinn danced forward, blood still dripping from the blade, "I got him Mista J."

"Yes, yes," Joker was not to be deterred from Batman, "now go outside and watch for the old sidekick." Harley pranced away pulling out a gun as she went. The Joker leaned over the profusely bleeding Batman, "How you doing Bruce? Don't keel over on me now! I need you for the big finish. Some folks might get a little angry at me, but….." the Joker maintained a healthy distance from Batman, "this is too good to pass up."

Batman made to push himself up with his one good arm, almost collapsing under the weight and pulling himself to his knees.

"Ask me again Bats," the Joker was fanatical, "ask me about Robbie." He whispered.

Batman stance was still proud despite the blood pooling from his chest and back, "Where is my son?"

The Joker cackled, "He's not your son anymore Brucie, come on out my boy. Batman meet Junior, Junior meet Batman." Tim walked forward but it wasn't Tim. He was dressed in a purple suit, his face was slathered in white make-up, and worst of all was the grin that seemed permanently stuck on his face. Upon spotting Batman he chuckled, he chuckled a Joker chuckle.

Now horror was written on Batman's face, "Tim…"

Joker clapped the boy on the shoulder, "You should be proud Bats, he'll be a fine addition to my family, held out longer then I'd thought."

"What did you do," anger propelled Batman across the room. Joker kicked him in the nose and he fell back.

"I just exposed his better nature Bruce," Joker's eyes glinted, "anyone who's near you flirts with madness, I just gave him a little push." There was glee in Joker's voice. He made a quick movement and flicked the cowl backwards; female voices filled the air, words indiscernible. The Joker plucked the small comm from Batman's ear, "Barbara Gordon and Kayla Wayne I presume." The voices fell silent, "Don't feel bad ladies," Joker continued, "I'll come for you too, no need to be jealous. I'm sure Bats here has sufficiently twisted you enough that you'll join me as fast as Junior here."

Batman's eyes were fastened on Tim, they were broken.

"Now my boy," Joker reached into his pocket and pulled out a small handgun, "do your old man a favour." He passed the gun to Joker-Tim, "shoot the Bat for me."

Joker-Tim pointed the gun at Bruce. It was steady. There was no sympathy in the boy's eyes, none of the frivolity, nothing that even spoke of Tim. He leveled that gun at Bruce with every intention of killing him, Tim's joker laugh bouncing off the walls.

Batman met his son's eyes, praying that Tim was in there somewhere, not because he had any chance of escaping, Joker had made sure that he didn't. But because Bruce wanted Tim to see that he was sorry, that it wasn't Tim's fault, that Bruce didn't blame him. That Bruce didn't doubt that Tim would beat this and when he did, Batman didn't want him to feel guilt for what he'd done. He spoke softly, "Tim."

The gun twitched slightly but didn't go off. "Come on son, do it!" The Joker urged. The gun twitched again, and then it started shaking. The laughter continued.

"Tim." Batman said again, no longer even trying to regain his feet.

The gun again became steady. It dropped a few inches, it rose again. The laughter slowed.

A gun went off. A shot was fired. Blood began gushing. Tim's gun hand fell to his side.

The blood wasn't Batman's. The laughter stopped, turning to tears.

The Joker looked down at his chest, "That's not funny." He sank to his knees.

The bullet wasn't Tim's.

Harley's gun lowered from where it had been pointed at the Joker.

The gun dropped from Dick's hand and clattered on the ground.


	26. Quitting

The screen had turned to static, white noise the only sound in the room. The League stared at what they had accidently unleashed, too stunned to even care that Bruce Wayne's head was on Batman's body.

"Was it worth it?" Batman growled for the umpteenth time. The question was rhetorical. Wally was openly sobbing, John and J'onn expressed horror at the scene faces repulsed, Shayara's face was full of anger her grip too strong on the mace, silent tears streaked down Diana's face and Clark looked like he wanted to kill himself. Batman continued to bleed out, small drops of blood hitting the floor; his face was impassive, no compassion as he looked on at this broken teammates.

The anger was the first to manifest itself as words, "Where is the Joker?" Shayara's growl almost matched Batman's.

His word stopped her cold, "Dead." He paused, "like my family."

That comment made Wally look up, mask off and eyes dead, "What? Who killed them? I thought, it looked like, nobody killed them."

"Not physically," Batman roared the words again, "but they're hardly the same people they were. One son a pawn of the Joker, one son killed a man, and the implications will rebound back to the girls, to Alfred. This will haunt them. They had troubles yes." His eyes bore into them, "not the perfect lives of Kents or Wests or Princesses." He spat, "but not like this. They weren't like me. And you've destroyed them." The blood was dripping faster as his heart rate increased.

Wally had shrunk back again almost curling into a ball, Shayara with nothing to hit instead put a hand on his shoulder. The rest of the room was too afraid to even breathe.

Superman's guilt was eating him, "they're strong boys," the Man of Steel sounded like he was begging; "they'll recover. They'll get through this."

Batman had no words. He didn't need them a few strokes on the keyboard and the screen jumped to life, split into multiple images across Wayne Manor. "This is live," was the only information Batman provided. The shots had no sound.

Their attention was immediately drawn to the lower left screen, there was a fire of some kind flickering in it. As they watched it was doused with a fire extinguisher. A redhead in a wheelchair rolled her way out of the smoke towards a tall, dark haired man. She was obviously saying something but he ignored her. He was wearing nothing but gym shorts and pummelling a well-worn punching bag as though his life depended on it. She threw the fire extinguisher at him to get his attention and rolled closer to the camera. He didn't turn even as it bounced off his thighs. Tears were running down the woman's face and she started shouting. The punches quickened, the bag flew off its restraint. Drained, dripping with sweat, the man finally turned.

"Who?" John queried softly.

Diana could answer one, "Richard Grayson."

Batman's head flipped in her direction, seeing the Batman look on Bruce was unsettling, "Nightwing and Oracle."

Most of the screens were empty. There was a shot of Alfred in what appeared to be a car headed to, according to the GPS screen, a Doctor Leslie's office. He was driving like a madman.

Then their gaze shifted to the screen they'd subconsciously been avoiding. It was clearly a teenage boy's bedroom but the bed had been replaced with one traditionally seen in a mental institute, complete with restraints. All were in use.

Kayla Wayne was sitting in the room's only chair, knees to chest, mascara running, a small ornate knife clenched in her fist and her eyes frozen on the occupant of the bed.

It was Tim. His arms, legs and torso were strapped to the bed and he was straining against them, clearly using all of his effort to escape. The purple suit had been frantically removed and was lying in a tattered heap on the floor, bloodstains visible. He was shirtless and wearing trackpants, leaving new scars from the Joker obvious across his chest.

It was Tim's face that would haunt the League. Someone had obviously tried to wash the makeup off but between their probable distress and Tim's attempt at escape there were still white smears showing on his skin. Although the League couldn't hear it his mouth was caught in an endless laugh, accompanied by the sick smile. Although it hadn't been visible under the makeup the Joker had taken a knife to Tim's face and cut it into a permanent smile; the laughter had cracked the fresh scars causing them to bleed again. His eyes were rolling back in his head and his chin was thrown back as he fought against the restraints.

Batman let them watch the screens for a moment then answered Superman's query, "My boys are strong but we will never be able to forget this." He sagged slightly then regained his feet.

No-one in the room missed the almost swoon and the growing puddle of blood but it was only J'onn who was brave enough to speak up, "Batman" he said stepping forward, "you need medical attention now."

The cowl went back on immediately hiding Bruce Wayne's features, "I'm leaving."

J'onn's brow furrowed, "Batman," he wisely did not use Bruce, "I insist. Your team has enough to deal with without you nearly dying on them as well."

"You misunderstand," Batman drew his cape in tighter, "this is my official resignation. I will no longer be a member of the League in any capacity, part time or otherwise. Wayne Industries will continue to fund the tower for another six months; I suggest you speak to Queen Enterprises in Starr City to continue funding the tower."

They stared at him, again dumbfounded.

"I quit." He growled, "You _will_ stay out of Gotham. Do not try to contact me." He turned to leave.

Superman appeared in front of him, "You can't quit."

"Watch me," Batman tried to step around the Kryptonian. He didn't move, "don't make me use Kryponite Superman."

"You can't leave Bats," Wally's voice trembled as he tried to instil something besides anger into the situation, "who's going to be our scary guy?"

Batman didn't dignify that with a response.

Clark tried to speak to the man instead of the Bat, "I'm sorry about what happened Bruce. I'm so so sorry. We can work together, help the boys, figure something out."

The black glove hovered over the lead-lined pouch, "I don't need anymore of your help."

"Batman," Wonder Woman's voice cut through the starefest, her voice oddly urgent.

He didn't turn, "I'm leaving Dia-"

She cut him off, "Kayla's in trouble."

He looked at the screens, hit the button to turn them off and sprinted from the room at the same time as the words "Stay out of Gotham" floated over his shoulder. The last image was frozen on the screens. Tim the trained escape artist, was now free from his restraints and holding a knife to Kayla's throat.

* * *

><p>Barbara had finally gotten Dick calmed down. He was sitting on the ground, back against the side of her wheelchair, not saying anything. Her hand rested on his shoulder. The first human contact he'd allowed all evening, she was taking her triumphs tonight as they came. The Nightwing costume smoked silently behind them, a couple of flames persistent even amidst the extinguisher foam.<p>

Batman ruined their peace when he blasted into the teleporter and sprinted across the Cave to the stairs, "wear your comm links" he snarled at them in passing.

They glanced at the Cave's computer screens and saw what was happening in the room above them. Dick took off on Bruce's heels. Barbara was left waiting for the elevator.

The two men burst into the room and froze. Tim's back was to them, the knife pressed tightly to Kayla's throat with one hand, the other gripping her neck, his feet firm. The position they'd taught him for holding a prisoner you didn't want to be taken away from you. Then they met Kayla's eyes, they were furious but not at Tim, at them.

Kayla was perfectly still. They had assumed this was due to fear, but Kayla wasn't moving by choice. She sent them a perfect Batglare, flicked her fingers at them in annoyance her eyes screaming 'don't you dare interfere' and then turned her gaze back to Tim.

She kept talking in a sing-song voice, "Don't mind them T. Stay focused on me. Eyes on mine, eyes on mine. Come on little brother." His eyes locked on hers again at the word brother. "There we go, there we go." The voice hinted of Kayla Wayne, "didn't like that bed now did we? Can't say I blame you, looks uncomfortable. Tell you what, how about we get your old bed back and then you can take a snooze? You must be tired bird boy."

He stared at her.

"No? Not tired then?" she continued, "alright how about a snack? I'm sure we can scrounge up a few of Alfred's cookies Tim." He twitched slightly at his own name, unintentionally drawing blood. He stared at it for a moment, and then the Joker chuckle started up again.

"You're bleeding." The room's occupants almost jumped at Tim's voice, it was raspy and worn. The words would have been reassuring if they were spoken with dismay instead of morbid fascination.

Kayla maintained a calm façade, "So are you." Batman was itching to jump the boy but Kayla's subtle signals screamed at them not to do so.

Tim looked down in surprise at his chest and the fresh scars, "those hurt." He said absently, his hands staying firmly locked on Kayla's neck.

Kayla quirked an eyebrow, "yeah being hurt is no fun huh?" As she swallowed the blade dug a little deeper, "You could put the knife down you know, we could get those cleaned out, take a nap, chill."

He looked at her again, war in his eyes, "I'm supposed to hurt you." The laughter grew stronger.

"Really?" They could have been discussing the weather, Kayla was so nonchalant "and who said you had to do that?"

"My father," the words slipped out too easily between the giggles. The tension in the room grew. Barbara pulled up to the door but wisely chose not to enter.

"The Joker's not your father little _brother_," she said kindly, "and you've always made your own choices, never listened to anyone else. Remember how you talked your way into becoming Robin? No-one invited you little brother, you just did it. Make your own choices."

He repeated, "I'm supposed to kill you."

Kayla's hand drifted upwards and Tim's grip tightened. Her hand immediately went back behind her back, "Take a look at the knife." Confusion flickered across his face at the odd request. "Look at it," she insisted, "you remember? I gave it to you for your birthday. Do you remember what you told me? One more death and this knife will have killed 100 people. Do you remember what you said then? Tim?'

He jolted at his own name, the laughter fading as the memory returned, "99, never 100." He whispered.

Kayla nodded despite the blood the action drew, "99 deaths never 100. You're not going to break that promise are you Tim?"

He stared at her.

"Tell you what," she continued, "we're not doing anyone any good just standing here so you're going to make a choice." She shifted so that the blade adjusted to a different position. It was now an easy, quick stroke to pierce her windpipe and kill her. "You chose now Tim. Are you going to kill me or let me go and let us help you?" She didn't meet Bruce's eyes but kept hers focused on Tim. She stared him down, "I believe in Tim. Tim would never kill me. Tim is still in control. Tim can find the truth. We'll find it together. 99 never 100. Tim"

Each 'Tim' led to a flinch. She stared him down. The laughter started to die just as it had in the warehouse when Bruce was staring down death's door.

The knife dropped and the tears began as Tim started to bawl into Kayla's shoulder.

* * *

><p>They hadn't moved since Batman had left; the League was still sprawled about the conference room.<p>

"Should we check on them?" Flash asked at last.

J'onn shook his head, "I do not believe it would be wise to antagonize Batman right now."

"He quit!" Superman piped up from the corner, "He just quit."

John crossed his arms, "He was emotionally strung out, he'll come back."

"No way," Shayara shook her head, "he's too stubborn, too angry at us. If he comes back it means he forgives us and I don't think he'll ever do that." She rolled her shoulder, "and honestly I don't blame him. I'll admit, I was sloppy. I should have been more stringent."

"We forgot that we were not untouchable," J'onn intoned, "we take for granted that we will always succeed. I for one assumed that no-one would recognize me in my human form."

Wally looked around, "So what do we do now?"

"We wait," Shayara said, "give him some space, then someone should go talk to him."

"Sure," Flash agreed, "but not what I meant. Who's going to do all the stuff that Bats did? You know fix the tower? Track bad guys? Buy food? Makes millions of billions of plans that we don't even know we need? Quote the Watchtower manual? And whatever else Bats does?"

They looked at each other. "We'll figure it out." Superman reassured the room, "Batman wasn't the team, he was a just a piece. We'll work around it. Logistics might be bumpy for a while but we'll get there. We're smart capable people."

"Not Batman smart," Flash muttered.

There was no comment to that. Somehow they all ended up in the Monitor room watching the screens, all channels set to Gotham and waiting for some kind of answer.

It took hours but finally a news report came through from the gates of Wayne Manor, "The search for Tim Drake adopted son of Bruce Wayne is over. We've just received word that the boy was rescued from the Joker by the Batman and returned to Wayne Manor. Our sources tell us that Kayla Wayne called the Gotham PD to report the return only minutes ago. There have been no official comments from the Wayne family but the rumours are that the Joker tortured the boy before Batman could retrieve him. There is no word on the status of the Joker. The family's private doctor however was seen entering the Manor hours ago and has yet to return. We will keep you posted as events unfold."

Diana exhaled, "So she's okay."

"Define okay," Shayara said with slight morbidity.

"Physically," Diana amended.

"Then yes," Shayara agreed, "They managed to keep her little brother from killing her."

Lantern put a hand on her mace, "let's not phrase it quite that way" he muttered and inclined his head towards the distraught Superman.

Shayara crossed her arms, "Well we should feel bad, it is our fault."

"Well it's not like he was keeping his distance," John argued, "Bruce Wayne just kept popping up."

"Because we couldn't leave Gotham alone," Shayara countered, finally finding somewhere to deposit her anger, "that's all he asked, 'stay out of Gotham' and we kept waltzing right in. Because we were curious."

"Because we were angry," John returned, that shut her mouth but her eyes narrowed.

Wally's voice was pitiful, "please don't fight. No more fighting." His eyes were large and sad, "please." He'd never looked younger to them.

Superman stood up, "I'm going to Gotham." His voice cracked slightly, "I need to speak to Batman, to Robin. I'll apologize, offer our help again."

"No you're not," the voice surprised them. Diana stood, hands on hips, "you are staying away from Gotham. You go down there now and we never get him back."

Superman stood toe to toe with her, "He needs our help." The voice was firm, conviction had returned.

"He does," she agreed, "but not like this. You can't just go charging down there. Think Kal, that's what caused this problem in the first place, we didn't think. You go down there now and at best you get treated to Kryptonite therapy again." She folded her arms across her chest, her posture at contrast with the dried tear trails on her cheeks, "You will not just waltz down there without a plan and intrude on a family in pain."

"She's right Clark," Wally whispered, "we can't keep bothering them. Maybe we should listen to Batman's Gotham bit for once, I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

Clark's face took on the desperate look again, "But we can't just leave him."

"We don't seem to have much of a choice," J'onn commented from the computer console, "Batman has blocked all League communications, transport and teleporter options to Gotham. His quite clearly claimed his zone."

The Greek swear word rang out clearly.

* * *

><p>"We've got to go now Tim," Kayla whispered. Leslie had shown up with Alfred and immediately started looking after Tim; however when Bruce, Kayla, Dick and Barbara had tried to leave the room Tim had started to panic. They had stayed and because Tim couldn't stand the sight of most medical equipment both Kayla and Bruce were still bleeding. Thin strips of gauze being the only medical option.<p>

Tim's face twitched at the internal struggle, "but you'll all be back."

"We won't go far," Barbara reassured him, "just outside, get some breakfast. We'll be right outside if you need us. Leslie will be here too."

He nodded, his eyes drifting shut, "Be careful, be careful, it's still out there." His eyes drifted closed, "it's going to come back. Can't trust me."

They went out the room and down the hall. Now Kayla started shaking, finally releasing the pent-up anxiety she'd held in for hours from almost being killed. She released a quick sob and then shoved her hands in her mouth as though she could stopper up the emotions.

Alfred put a hand on her shoulder, "You'd better let me look at your neck Miss Kayla."

She nodded, snagged a blanket from a passing closet, plunked into a kitchen chair and wrapped herself up in a cocoon of wool. Her only response was to lift her chin slightly when Alfred brought out the antiseptic. The others took seats nearby.

Barbara sighed and stretched, rubbing her eyes, "who wants to talk fallout first."

They stared at her saying nothing.

"By all means," she sighed again, "I'll go first. The Joker has been confirmed dead. The Gotham PD are listing cause of death as falling on a metal rod." She didn't ask whose idea it had been to impale the Joker to cover up the bullet hole, she didn't want to know. "Harley is missing in action. I'm going to need to pull a satellite to find her and bring her in, so-"

Bruce cut her off, literally, "That won't be necessary Barbara. You're done."

"I beg your pardon sir?" Alfred asked as Kayla winced, not the only one uncertain.

Bruce drew himself up, "As of now I'm dismantling this team. I will not risk anymore kids on the streets."

"You can't do that," Barbara protested, "I never asked your permission to start, I won't take it to end. You don't want me on your cases fine, but the Birds need me."

"I'm cutting off your funding." Bruce said simply, "I won't stop you but I won't fund you either. I'm responsible for you being in that chair, for the death of one Robin, the guilt of one and the insanity of another. I will not put more at risk."

Barbara stared at him flabbergasted, "I, I, I don't need your money!"

Batman ignored the lie, "Dick," he rumbled.

"Save it," the young man said bitterly, "I'm way ahead of you. I already quit, dumped chemicals on the suit and lit it on fire and everything. Save your lectures on killing the Joker." He put his head in his hands, "I know ok? I know. I keep seeing that moment and I panicked and. I'm done ok? I'll leave. I shouldn't have killed him but I won't apologize. You'll never have to see me again." Dick had risen to his feet. Alfred and Barbara looked panicked at seeing him leave, Kayla numb, Bruce calm.

Dick turned into the dark, footsteps loud in his anger and shame.

"Dick," Batman rumbled again, "I'd like you to stay in the Manor and help with Tim."

The unexpected comment stopped the room in its tracks.

"You what?" Dick asked.

Bruce stared him down, "I'd like you to move back into the Manor and assist Tim in his recovery."

The two men stared at each other. "That's it?" Dick finally asked, "No lecture, no rant, no disappearing act, no silence, no nothing?"

Batman ignored the question, "Tim needs you."

Dick sat back down.

"Any other surprises?" Barbara asked torn between wonder for what had just happened, exhaustion and anger.

They hadn't actually expected an answer, "I quit the League."

Tim's screams slammed down the stairwell.

* * *

><p>Tim hadn't remembered them as they'd bolted back into the room. They'd had to start from scratch, to reconvince him that he was safe, that the Joker wasn't his father, to bring back any form of Tim. He'd tried to kill them again but this time the restraints did their job. They'd been forced to sedate him, giving them an eight hour window to figure out what to do.<p>

Dick had started to move back into his old room, eyes glassy. He was lying on his bed, half unpacked and staring at the ceiling. He'd called in a leave of absence from the Bludhaven police force.

Alfred was speaking with Leslie in the kitchen. Bruce had disappeared into the Cave. Kayla was in charge of smuggling Barbara back to her house without the reporters camped outside the gates noticing. Kayla had changed, dress-up for anyone else, dressed down for Kayla Wayne and then dropped into the sports car driver's seat. Barbara was sitting on the ground in the backseat, her wheelchair in the trunk. They'd peeled out of the gates so fast that even the fastest reporter's camera got nothing but a red blur.

"I've got a proposal for you." Kayla said as they pulled into the driveway, finally breaking the silence.

Barbara lifted herself up to the seat, "Now?"

She shrugged, "I'd rather not focus on the other options." Swinging out of the car Kayla popped the trunk, "I'll fund you if you keep me up to date on what the League's doing."

"You're going to fund me?" Naturally Barbara was skeptical, "it's not exactly cheap."

With more strength then a pop princess should have had Kayla swung the wheelchair to the ground, "Have you seen my clothes budget? It's huge. B doesn't even know what I send it on, as long as I keep looking pretty he'll never notice. Even Batman gets distracted." She paused, 'I mean it may be a little less then you're use to but it's better than nothing right?"

Barbara hoisted herself into the chair with minimal aid, "I don't know if it's such a good idea for you to be keeping an eye on them. What with Waller and-"

Kayla cut her off, "You need the money, I'll worry about Waller." She held out a hand, "deal or no deal."

"Deal," Barbara said with some regret, "I'll be back tomorrow."

Kayla nodded, "Hopefully the screaming won't be as piercing."

* * *

><p>Batman strode immediately for the BatCave upon the dissolution of the group. Checking once to make sure that the rest of the mansion's occupants were elsewhere he popped the trunk on the Batmobile, a gagged, bound and terrified Riddler stared back at him.<p>

Batman grabbed him and threw him to the ground with such force that the man bounced off the concrete. "It's your fault too," he growled.

There was nothing but fear in the Riddler's face. Batman ripped the gag out of his mouth, "Why'd you do it. Why the Joker."

The man looked up, "It was the ultimate riddle, who was Batman, who was Batman. So many questions, but I thought that was the question. There's another question, more questions, more riddles. I've got to go farther down the rabbit hole."

Batman grabbed him again, "Why the Joker." The edge of the cowl pricked the Riddler's face.

"He pays," the Riddler shrugged, "if you live, he pays really well."

Batman processed that, "Why now?"

"He knew who the Justice League was." The Riddler looked serious now, "Clark Kent, Superman. Wally West, Flash. But he didn't know Batman. I was curious. It was a riddle, it's still a riddle. The Joker's not that kind of smart, how did he know? How did he know? I had to get closer. I solved the riddle." The man snivelled slightly, "he made me tell."

"My boy paid the price," Batman roared, "did you think of that in the middle of your riddles?"

"I'm sorry." There were no tears but the man seemed genuine, "I have no excuse. I got caught into the riddles, by the time I realized it was too late." He tilted his head to the side, "you should kill me you know, but you won't."

"Won't have been happening with great frequency tonight." Batman snarled.

The Riddler shook his head, "you're a good man." He looked around the Cave and zoomed in on the burnt Nightwing costume. "Looks like the kids are done Batman, me too. I'm done. Kill me, throw me in jail. I don't care. I'm done. No more of those kind of riddles."

Batman stared the man down then shoved him into the teleporter, "You step one foot out of line Enigma and I'll find you. You say one thing and I'll find you."

The man nodded, still bound and disappeared.

"Risky," the female voice sounded from the stairs.

Batman turned to the computer simulator, "I thought I said you _kids_ weren't supposed to be down here."

Kayla trudged forward, "I was never supposed to be down here, it didn't stop me before. You sure that was a good idea, just letting him go?"

"It's not a riddle if everyone knows the answer." Batman said, "he'll stay quiet."

Kayla dropped onto the edge of the walkway, legs swinging slightly, "That's half the reason. You feel the same way I do don't you?" He didn't answer. "That's why you didn't yell at Dick and why you let the Riddler go. Why you're still bleeding out."

He ignored her and activated a simulation sequence.

"You should get those wounds looked after." She commented too nonchalantly.

He stepped past the weapons rack to the toolkit, "so should you."

She ignored him. He strode past her and swept into the simulation room. Kayla slipped in before he could lock her out.

A computer voice sounded, "Running deep simulation beta gamma 123297J"

"Get out," he growled, a subtle shift in his weight swirling the cape and revealing the crowbar he was holding.

"Not likely," Dick's old sweater came off, leaving just a tank top and Kayla pulled a short sword from a sheath between her shoulder blades. He raised an eyebrow. "Old habits die hard," she shrugged, "are you really going to make me run this by myself later when you're gone?"

A prone simulation version of the Joker appeared before them, laughing, mocking. In the next hour it would die a hundred brutal, bloody deaths.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry on the slow update, these take longer to write because of the type of writing and I burnt my fingers on some plaster and couldn't type for a couple of days. I apologize to everyone I shocked with the sudden mood change. Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter, it means a lot to me that it resounded with you guys as much as it did to me. Try not to judge our characters too harshly, their lives suck right now.<strong>


	27. Owe It

Paradise. They use to call this island Paradise. I saw it once, as it was before we came. It was beautiful, perfect, white beaches, fresh air, sunshine, everything seemed to shiver with an ethereal quality. I didn't deserve to be there. I felt it in my bones from the moment I set foot on the island, I was wrong, I didn't belong. I didn't deserve it. But we don't often get what we deserve.

The good get evil and the evil get good. I'm supposed to believe in justice, in a balancing of the scales, that I can make a difference. This is my heritage, this is supposed to be my legacy. People get what they deserve, people get justice. I'm supposed to be administering justice. They still fly us under the banner of justice, that we're righting the world order, imposing justice where there was none. Maybe they're right, I wouldn't know anymore. I don't know what justice looks like, I've lost it. All I know is that I don't want it to be this. If I'm supposed to stand for justice than it can't be this. I can't understand this. But maybe that works if I can't understand justice anymore either.

Who deserves paradise? I'd venture a guess that no-one does but least of all me. We don't deserve paradise and paradise doesn't deserve to be desecrated by us. What do we deserve? Where does remorse come into play? Can feeling sorry really account for the actions taken? Maybe for others but not for me, not for the champion of justice. Why? Because being sorry and being forgiven requires mercy, it requires justice not to be taken. I don't give mercy. I stand for justice, I administer justice and therefore I can never receive mercy. But if just once I could stay my hand, if just one time I could truly offer someone mercy, forgiveness, relief, I know who I'd give it to.

We had all forgotten him, those I fight with and those I fight against. Not forgotten perhaps but not focused on either. There were so many other events circling around us, so many plots demanding our attention, masks upon masks upon masks. And his thoughts, his emotions, they were so well hidden beneath so many masks and disguised by seemingly more tragic events. We could have saved him but we didn't see. We didn't see from behind our own masks. What did him in? Bloody, brutal justice again; his idea of justice and of how to find paradise, of how to find mercy.

He's here you know, on the island. I visit him all the time, thinking that maybe I can still save him. Or for more selfish reasons, that he'll help me find one of them, to find justice or mercy. I am in charge of many prisoners on this island. Amazons, heroes, villains, all but two are in chains. Chains to keep them bound here, to keep them prisoner, the other two have bonds that I didn't need to make. Sometimes it's nice, to pretend that they're here by choice. But he, he is chained but not to keep him prisoner, not in the conventional sense although I'm sure that he believes it is. I chain him to keep him alive. His sense of justice is perverted, insane, he'll kill himself. And somehow I still can't let that happen, not until I figure out where justice really lies, where it is. What it is. I've got time, and no time at all.

Who deserves paradise? I couldn't say. Perhaps not even the Amazons who lived here initially but at least they didn't pervert it as we did, as they claim we had to. But they are always right, they always get their way and we have no choice but to go along. Or at least I don't, I don't have a choice. The other two do, they know they do, I can see it in their eyes. But they're too afraid because they are too strong. Certainly stronger than I. We have destroyed paradise, perhaps the last bit of it that existed. It's marred and ugly, dark, dank and disgusting; and I still don't deserve to be here.

* * *

><p>Flash had a serious proclamation to make at the next League meeting. The usually cheerful speedster stood, placed his hands on the table and said in his most serious voice, "We are out of food."<p>

"So go buy some more," John suggested, wanting to move on and get out of there as soon as possible.

Flash raised his hands, "I don't think you all are appreciating the gravity of the situation. We are out of food. We are never out of food."

John folded his arms, "Either way, the solution is to go buy more."

Superman had to ask, "What do you mean we're never out of food?"

"I'm in the kitchen a lot," Flash admitted sheepishly "and I have never, not at five am or noon or that day when I was on that 24 hour eating regime ever seen the Watchtower kitchen even low on food. We are now out. We're even out of the emergency Oreo supply."

J'onn paled.

"We can't have never been out of food before," Superman said, "I mean there are seven of us in and out,"

"Six," Shayara coughed.

Superman continued, "And three of you live here full time, surely we've been low at some point. Someone must know where to do get food."

"What's wrong with the grocery store?" John asked, "That's where I go."

"Yeah," Flash shot back, "but everyone knows who you are. Flash doesn't exactly go grocery shopping and Wally has no reason to buy cartloads of groceries." A grocery list appeared in John's hand, "you go shopping for the tower than."

John shook his head and placed the list back on the table, "I can't, I'm headed to Oa after this, remember?"

"No," Flash squinted, "But have fun. Okay so J'onn or Superman, who's going?"

Both men spoke quickly, "Not me."

"Well it has to be one of you," Flash waved the list around, "Shayara will get mobbed again. I'm not trusting Diana to go shopping, she'll probably come home with a whole cow or something gross. John can't go. I can't go. So it's got to be one of you." The speedster wiggled his eyebrows, "J'onnnnnnn, you know you want to."

"I know no such thing," the Martian replied, "my nutritional needs are different than your own. If there is no resolution to this problem I will make a trip for Oreos but I will be no help with the rest of your list." His eyes glow slightly, "You are already aware Wally that the only answer to your problem is to go to the store yourself as Flash and sacrifice what you call your 'image'."

"Superheroes don't shop," Flash protested weakly, "it's not cool."

Shayara finally snapped, "Look it's not as though Batman was waltzing through grocery stores, why don't we just call him and ask where he got the groceries. It's been two weeks, he'll have cooled down at least enough to send us the specs we need, ask about this at the same time."

"We don't need Batman," Superman said firmly, "We'll figure it out on our own. Flash I'll go with you. Problem solved" Diana was shooting daggers at the Man of Steel from across the table.

Shayara stood, "No, problem not solved because the real problem here isn't that we're out of food, that problem can be solved by ordering food and getting it sent to a drop off point, scanning it and teleporting it up."

"Perfect Shy!" Wally zipped out, grabbed a laptop, came back and started ordering.

"The real problem," Shayara continued, "Is that we're even spending time discussing this when there are bigger root issues to deal with."

Diana crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.

Clark avoided eye contact with her, focusing instead on Shayara, "I know that things are rough right now but they'll smooth out. We're just in an adjustment period."

She ignored his comment, "I mean have you even tried to talk to him, call him, at least someone has to go and get the relevant data to keep running the Watchtower from the man."

"Shayara," John said, "maybe you should just-"

She whirled slightly, "No I will not 'just'. Someone needs to go talk to him, I assumed that it would be you," she glared at Superman, "or you." Diana got a slightly softer look but not much, "but if no-one's willing to step up I'll go." Shayara shoved her chair into the table and went to the door, "He is a member of this team and he thinks we betrayed him. He shouldn't have to come crawling back here, I know how betrayal works, we go apologize to him."

Diana glared a bit harder at Superman.

"I'm taking the Javelin 7," Shayara spat and spun towards the door.

Superman stood slowly, still avoiding Diana's eyes, "I wouldn't recommend that course of action." She kept going. He continued, "Shayara, what could you possibly say to him?"

"I'm going to apologize," she shot, "he's right. Then when that doesn't work I'm going to hit over the head with my mace. He won't make the same mistakes I did."

The Man of Steel's voice was a whisper, "I already tried that."

The room froze with the exception of Diana, whose glare finally softened.

Shayara retook her seat, "Explain".

The usually stoic Superman braced his hands against the table, "I went to see him three days ago." He inhaled deeply, "It didn't go well."

Silence hung in the air as they waited for him to continue, there was no information forthcoming.

Flash leaned forward, "Aaaaaaaaaand?" He dragged out the word, "what happened?"

"I got the specs we need for the Watchtower, J'onn and I have been going through them for the past few days." Superman said.

Flash threw his hands in the air, "Well is he coming back or what?"

"He's not," John guessed and crossed his arms, "perhaps it's for the best, Batman's current attitude would be more of a liability than an asset. Superman is right, we can handle ourselves, and he'll realize that we never intended to reveal his identity."

Shayara looked like she wanted to rip his head off. John caught her look and continued, "Look I am sorry for what happened but I'm not sorry for the actions we took. The air of mistrust in the League was more counterproductive than our current state. At the end of the day it comes down to the best way to save lives, I believe that this is it."

"Robin almost died." Shayara reminded him with a growl.

John met her gaze, "And I'm sorry that it happened but I'm confident that he _will_ recover. A fellow Lantern came home from patrolling one day and found his girlfriend chopped up into pieces and shoved into his refrigerator. He was traumatized. Yes, it's hard. Yes it takes work. Yes it's awful. But we can recover. Robin will recover. Batman will come back, but it does us no good to go grovel to the man."

"He wants us to grovel," Wally said, "that's why he left right, to make us sorry? To make us know it's our fault? At least that's what I did to Susie Perkins in grade 3." His brow crinkled, "it didn't really work. But if that's all Bats wants I'm already there."

Superman sat down hard with a definitive thump, but it was Wonder Woman who answered, "He doesn't want us to grovel or think it's our fault, at least that's not what he really wants."

J'onn observed her calmly, the only one in the room appearing unemotional, although that didn't mean he wasn't, "The evidence would state otherwise Diana, why else would he come here and shown us what happened to Robin."

"Because he's both Batman and just a man," Diana said simply and somehow with the utmost respect despite her usual way of turning the word 'man' into an insult. "I went to see him as well."

"Details?" Wally asked curiously.

Diana took a deep breath.

* * *

><p>Diana was reading in her room when J'onn's voice sounded in her earpiece, "Diana there's a call for you."<p>

"Put it through," she said absently flipping a page, it was probably Donna calling to gush about New York again.

A different female voice came across the line, "Wonder Woman?"

Diana closed the book, "Yes? Who is this, how did you get this line?"

"You're needed in Gotham," the voice said.

Diana sat up straight, "What's wrong?"

"Superman is trying to talk to _him_ in the BatCave." There was a tapping noise in the background, "I can get you into the Manor but I don't have near enough time to break all the encryptions to get you straight in the BatCave."

Diana got up and made her way out the door, "I don't understand why you need me," she ventured a guess, "Kayla?"

There was a humourless chuckle on the other end, "Oracle actually, Kayla couldn't code her way out of a Javascript." Her voice got dimmer as she switched to another conversation, "Alfred, Wonder Woman is thirty seconds out." The voice came back to Diana, "it's a problem because _he_ has locked down the blast doors, because you don't talk to him, that's not how he works and because," there was a pause, then a sigh, "we're afraid for him."

Diana ran to the teleporter.

* * *

><p>Wonder Woman appeared in the foyer of the Manor which was surprisingly both disheveled and deserted. Her sensitive ears could pick up noise from both upstairs and down the hall but to be polite she shouted, "Hello?"<p>

"Study," a voice hollered back.

A quieter refined voice admonished her, "Miss Kayla, be polite, we don't yell at guests."

"A little busy Alfred," Kayla huffed, "she can find her own way." Diana smiled at the exchange even as she moved quickly down the hallway.

The study was in complete disarray. The air was thick with smoke, a busted fire alarm lay on the floor. All the items in the room had been pushed up against the walls and someone had covered them haphazardly in sheets. The grandfather clock had been swung to the side revealing a thick, metal door behind it. The door had obvious scorch marks on it from where someone had apparently tried to bomb it open. Kayla crouched in front of the door, examining a high level explosive, Alfred hovering behind her. Two computer screens sat to the side, one displaying a redhead woman, the other a dark haired young man with dark circles under his eyes.

"No, no, no," The man was saying, "you've got to connect the red wire around the overpass to the second module or it won't have enough juice." Kayla stuck out her tongue as she tried to follow the directions. Her hands moved swiftly but her hesitation was clear.

"It doesn't matter," the other screen responded, the voice was familiar, Oracle, "he designed the doors against this sort of thing. You could juice this thing up 100 times over and the door won't break."

"It will if we repeat the action on the same spot, creating a stress point." He shot back. There was a whimpering in the background and he turned instantly, "Shhhh Tim, it'll be okay. I'm right here."

Oracle kept on going, "We need over twenty of these bombs to break the door Dick. She has to go down the vent, there's no other option."

Dick glanced back at the screen, his attention divided, "And make him madder? Great. Not to mention the whole 'people could die' bit."

"Would you both zip it!" Kayla said finally in exasperation, "only helpful comments from the peanut gallery." She lifted the device and attached it to the door right next to the handle. Then she scurried across the room and out the door, pulling Alfred behind her and pushing Wonder Woman backwards. "Hi." Was the only comment given to the Amazon before, "Fire in the hole!" Kayla hit a small button and the controlled explosion went off, smoke filled the room again. She ran forward, Wonder Woman right behind her, Alfred a little slower.

An interesting expletive burst from Kayla's lips, "Gorgon's spit!" The door had only a small scorch mark for their trouble; otherwise it appeared smooth and impenetrable.

Diana arched an eyebrow, that was a phrase she hadn't heard since she came off the island but she didn't ask, focusing instead on the task at hand, "What can I do to help?" She ran a critical eye over the door, Batman had done his work well, "I can take a knock at the door but it appears to be beyond even my strength."

"It is," Oracle nodded through the camera, "told you Dick." He glowered slightly. "There is an alternative route into the cave, we'd like you to try it."

"This is a bad idea." Dick muttered quietly, trying not to disturb Tim who was just visible in the bottom corner of the screen. Tim was crouched, knees to chest, hands covering his ears the noise of the bomb obviously not sitting well with him. Dick had a hand his back and allowed Tim to cover against his side.

"Well we're out of options, even one more those will set Tim off; not to mention the time constraint." Barbara shot back, "We've got to tell Wonder Woman."

Kayla chimed in, wiping black char from her face, "I could do it."

Three voices responded instantly, "No chance in hell!"

"Not going to happen."

"I think not Miss Kayla."

She stood, aggravated, "but it's okay to let Wonder Woman do it?"

"Miss Diana is a trained professional, she has advanced healing capabilities, not to mention her other skills," Alfred gave the young girl a true BatGlare, "and should things take an unfortunate turn down there she is far more equipped than you to handle it."

Kayla harrumphed.

"What do you need me to do?" Diana asked.

The older Bat prodigies exchanged glances, "there's another way into the Cave." Barbara said, "an emergency vent for Batman, and only Batman to use in case someone ever activates the Cave's defences against him again."

"Ra's," Dick coughed.

Barbara continued, "It's tuned to accept Bruce's genetic code but technically it could be used by someone else. Dick's done it once years ago."

Diana nodded, "I'll do it. Where's the entrance?"

"You should know," Dick said, "that if you're not Bruce, well it's not pleasant. I came out with a broken leg, a concussion, full body burns and…"

Wonder Woman cut him off, "It's booby trapped, of course it is. We're losing time. Where's the entrance?"

Kayla pointed to a dusty vent half hidden behind a bookcase, "there".

Six minutes later Wonder Woman free fell twenty feet into the cave wrestling a life-size mechanical jaguar. They landed on the floor with a thump, putting small cracks in the concrete floor. She then proceeded to rip the beast's head from its shoulders, leaving it a sparking, twitching mess. She instantly got to her feet, uncertain as to what would lay before her. It was unexpected.

Superman was hanging upside-down from the ceiling, both feet trapped in what appeared to be ordinary rope. At first glance Batman seemed to be just sitting and watching, however upon a second look it became obvious that something or more likely someone had melted the metal arms and footrest on his chair, effectively gluing him to the spot. Neither man was struggling, apparently caught in a heated debate.

She relaxed slightly, debating was better than a full out slug-fest, "The mechanical jaguar was a little much, don't you think?" She interrupted them while popping her arm back into its socket.

"There were three," Superman said, "and a set of retractable spikes at the bottom, a stream of lava, poison gas, two collapsing sections, paralytic acid, kryptonite, and whatever was in the lead shielded portion. He shut it down to base level when we saw it was you."

Diana popped her kneecap, "Remind me to send you a Christmas card. Although I don't think that dropping people into a ten foot box of poisonous snakes and then letting them fly into an invisible electric fence before drowning them is exactly basic."

There was a small, nearly indiscernible smirk on Batman's face, "I didn't want you to get bored. It's a long drop with nothing to do."

She shook her head slightly, and then narrowed her eyes at both men, "So care to explain what's going on here?"

They spoke simultaneously, "He's an idiot."

"He won't listen Diana."

She sat on a ledge where she could observe both of them, "Explain. Kal, you first."

The Kryptonian looked odd hanging upside down, his cape almost brushing the floor. The draft in the cave made him spin slightly as he spoke, "I came to _apologize_ to Bruce and to ask him to rejoining the team because this isn't helping anyone. Nothing sinister, nothing that required trapping me in a _magically reinforced rope_."

"I told you to stay out of Gotham," Batman growled the words. He was slowly working at the metal bands holding him down, although he was trying to hide it from his 'guests'.

Diana was examining the deep cut on her upper thigh from Batman's obstacle course thankful for her healing abilities, "And you felt that trapping Batman in his chair would help your problem Kal?" She pressed her hand against the wound, hoping to slow the flow of blood, even she only had so much of it.

Superman crossed his arms, which is difficult to do upside down, "It may not have been the wisest course of action. But this is ridiculous we're not children. We can't afford to sulk by ourselves when bad things happen."

"Diana," Batman's growl cut into the beginning of Superman's soliloquy, "behind you, top right drawer."

Slightly confused, she did as requested. Part of her was wondering if something wasn't about to explode in her face; she was faced with a drawer of sterile, white bandages. Nodding her thanks, she knew he was only pretending not to watch, she began to wrap up the wound.

"I'm not sulking." Batman continued, "I'm doing the right thing. If you've got a problem, deal with it. It's not my problem anymore."

Superman threw his hands in the air or more accurately towards the ground, "How is this the right thing? We need you. You're a part of a team."

"And I quit." He worked harder against the bonds.

"It doesn't matter, we need you. You can't just quit on us." Superman said squirming against his own restraints.

"Why?" Batman growled, "You don't need me. You didn't think I'd be around forever did you Kent? I don't have the life expectancy of gods. You'll be around longer than me, so you might as well get used to it now. Are you seriously telling me that the great Kryptonian and his friends can't handle things without a man in a suit telling them what to do?"

Diana paused curious to see what Superman would say. He paused, gaped a moment, then "Well you can't just quit on the world, we," bumbling Clark shone through slightly, "we, we, we owe them our protection. You can't just turn your back on them."

"I owe them nothing," the words were almost scarier than the roar they'd seen two weeks ago on the Watchtower.

Superman froze, suddenly very aware that he'd said exactly the wrong thing.

Batman continued, "You can fight because you owe them protection, I owe them nothing."

"I don't protect people because I owe them," Superman protested, "I protect people because it's the right thing to do."

Batman caught him in a sharp gaze, "The right thing for everyone? Or just for people with meta human abilities? Would you recommend Superman, that the average man on the street run out and fight Lex Luthor, Cheetah or the Joker? Do they owe it to the world to protect it like we do?"

"Batman," Diana interjected, "That's hardly a fair comparison."

"That's the point Diana," he growled, "the answer is no. Superman here doesn't expect humans to go one by one like we do and fight the bad guy. And yet you're asking me to, you're telling me I owe it to the world. But in reality I'm just one of those humans, my sons are just one of those humans, we owe just as much as everyone else. In fact the case can be made that our card is full, that we owe less."

Superman was grasping at straws, "It's not about powers, it's about ability. John, Diana, and Wally are all technically humans too. You don't see them talking about owing people."

"So it's just the almighty Superman who owes humanity for taking him in? For sheltering the last member of a race of apparent gods? Yes Superman, I can see why you feel as though you owe humanity. J'onn's case is similar. Shayara works every day under the assumption of paying back humanity for the invasion, her existence is wrapping up in owing."

Superman wanted to dispute but couldn't, there was a grain of truth in Batman's words.

Diana however felt she could, "So there's an aspect of debt Batman, there's also an aspect of doing what's right. Both may come into play but I can argue that doing what's right is more important to us."

"I'm sure _you_ could." Batman scoffed, "Because despite Superman's observation that you're still a human, for you doing what's right is the same thing as paying the debt you owe."

Diana pulled the bandage tight and stood, "It is not. I came to Man's World as an ambassador of peace, to bring order and goodness to a chaotic world."

"Why?" Batman challenged, "Why you?"

"Because I was the best suited," Diana said, raising her chin, "surely I don't have to repeat to you my story?"

"And why," Batman pressed, "were you best suited?"

Diana suddenly saw the trap he had lead her down but swallowed her pride and said the words anyway, "Because I was blessed by the gods."

Batman smirked, "And Lantern was given his ring. These were gifts with provisos, in order to receive the power of Green Lantern you need to protect people, to be blessed with Athena's armour and be champion of the gods you need to protect people. You're just paying back the debt you owe for your abilities. You all are."

"And Flash?"

"Flash owes no debt," Batman's words surprised. "Wally West gave himself his abilities in a chemical explosion; he went out and took them. He didn't get them as a gift, he wasn't born with them, he achieved them. Out of all of us Flash is the best, the one who owes the world nothing and choses to fight anyway." Then Batman's face darkened, "if you tell him I said that you will find life difficult."

"And you?" Superman asked, "yes you forged who you are. You did the training. You spent years working, I get that. But Bruce, you had assets that most of the world couldn't dream of, don't you owe the world for dropping you into the lap of luxury? For giving you not only the financial means but the right genetic combination to even achieve what you've achieved."

"I thought it wasn't about owing." Batman said.

Superman spluttered, "It, It's not but but you, you just said that…"

Batman cut him off, "I've paid my debt. I've paid in full. I've given every aspect of my life to this. Every dollar, every muscle, every broken bone, every minute, I don't get to take breaks, every relationship and when the time comes I'll give it my life. If I chose to give whatever time I have left to Gotham, and Gotham alone, if I chose to protect my family." He turned back to the console, his hands somehow free, "then that's my choice."

The rope fell from Superman's feet, "I've uploaded all specs you need to the Watchtower computer." He didn't look at them, "Now get out."

They didn't move, "And Kent? Don't come bothering me about Luthor again." The blast doors went up, "Find your way out, I've got a family to take care of and Two-Face is on the loose."

"Bruce," Diana said softly.

She was cut off by a clunking noise come down stairwell. Kayla had fallen head over heels in her haste to get into the cave. Diana managed to catch her before she could splatter on the damp floor. Kayla didn't waste time with a thank you, "Tim just stabbed Alfred with Dick's laptop."

* * *

><p><strong>I know! I'm sorry for hurting Tim but it had to be done. I'm so thankful for your comments it's nice to hear that the fic is resounding to you guys, I read every comment multiple times, it makes the time spent well worth it. I've never really tried emotional before this so we jumped on a limb together. Yes, I did bring back our opening narrator, love it or hate it, that's where we're going. Sorry about that jazz and no, I'm not telling you who it is just yet, or who the mom is. We'll get back to the action very soon.<strong>

**And to Jay, although I'd rather you liked the story there is no greater compliment to my writing then saying you hated the story but the writing was good. **


	28. Lex and Alex

"Hold on," John interrupted Diana's narration, "Alfred was stabbed with a _laptop_? I don't see how that's even possible."

Superman looked at Diana, "Technically it was a piece of the laptop. From what we gathered before Batman rushed us out of the manor the noise of the bombs had disturbed Tim's" he paused, "condition. He grabbed Dick's laptop and threw it against the wall. Alfred went upstairs to aid Dick in calming Tim down and in the confusion Tim managed to get him with a broken circuit board and a shard of the casing."

"He's okay?" Shayara asked immediately, she had a soft spot for Alfred.

Diana nodded, "He'll probably have a slow recovery but he'll live."

Suddenly Wally let out a choked sob and all heads turned in his direction. The young man was staring at the table with a huge smile on his face. Without looking up he said, "Bats really said that? About me? But I thought he hated me. That explosion was a total accident, I mean," he looked up and his eyes were shining slightly, "Bats really said that? I mean Batman said that about me? Really?"

Despite the situation Wally looked so thrilled at the idea that Batman had praised him the other Leaguers had to smile. "He did Wally," Superman confirmed, "strictly off the books of course, but he did."

Wally beamed.

"Alright," Shayara said, "so what's Plan B?"

"We let him be," Superman responded, "we go on without him."

Shayara raised an eyebrow, "let me think about that." There was hardly a pause, "Okay I've thought about it, it's a stupid idea. Next?"

"Shayara," John warned, "Superman and Batman are right, he deserves to be left alone if that's what he wants. We can't force him.

She looked at Diana, "Don't tell me that you agree with this?"

Diana didn't answer.

J'onn stepped in, "Let's take it to a vote." His voice didn't give room for argument.

"Fine," Shayara huffed, "I vote we bring Batman back."

John sat next to her and despite knowing he'd pay for his comment said, "I vote we leave Batman alone."

"I too cast my vote in leaving Batman for the moment." J'onn intoned.

Wally shook his head, "I'm with Shy, I vote we bring the Bat back."

They skipped over Batman's chair to Superman. The Man of Steel straightened his shoulders, "I vote we leave Batman be."

All eyes turned to Diana who appeared to be having a staring contest with the ceiling. Although the League couldn't see it all of her experiences with the Dark Knight were flashing through her mind in a manner not unlike the one _he_ used when examining a situation, albeit with a different flare. Then the Batman memories were replaced with Bruce Wayne ones and finally the two began to run together. Diana nodded to herself.

"Well?" Flash asked; sure that Diana would be on his side.

She met her teammate's eyes, "We leave Batman alone."

* * *

><p>"You will lie down, lay still and be happy about it!" Kayla's voice thundered through the bright room as she stared down at the man attempting to sit up in his bed. She gently, although firmly pushed the stubborn man's shoulders back onto the mattress where they belonged, "You'll do no-one any good if you pop your stitches and we have to start this all over again." She grabbed a blanket and dropped it on top of him, "And don't even think about going down to the Cave. I don't know how long it's been since someone cleaned it but the level of hygiene can't be counted on and the very very last thing I need is for you to add infection. I'm not exactly much of a medic." She popped her hands onto her hips, "A crash course in wound treatment was one thing, moving beyond theoretical into practical infection is another. Now promise me you'll stay put, everything is fine."<p>

The man in the bed was no longer struggling to get up instead he was observing the young woman with a twinkle in his eye that had been noticeably absent in the past few weeks, "Well Miss Kayla," Alfred said, "Although I would hate to force Master Bruce's infectious disease training upon you I can hardly fail in my duties."

"Alfred," Kayla said while wrapping up a roll of bandages, "You can't actually physically get up yet. You know that, I know that. Trying is pointless."

"If you say so Miss Kayla," the butler said, "I've always found trying to be the death of the impossible."

She arched an eyebrow, "I've got food,"

"Take-out is hardly food," Alfred interrupted.

She continued louder, "food to bring up to the boys. Don't make me stay here and hold you down Alfred."

The butler insisted, "Just help me into the kitchen and I'll make you all some real sustenance. I can't imagine what you've been consuming over the past few days." Then he yawned.

"We like fast food," Kayla informed him, "it's got a certain greasy appeal. And I figured you'd say that so I spiked your last IV injection." She smiled sadly, "sweet dreams Alfred, see you in eight hours."

He managed one last comment, "Do be careful."

She leaned over and kissed his forehead, "Unfortunately that's one thing I can guarantee wasn't engineered into me."

Exiting the room she dropped the equipment onto a waiting cart and began hauling it behind her. Over the last while with Alfred injured, Dick and Tim confined to Tim's bedroom and Bruce's inconsistency she'd been forced to take on the role of cook and medic. Although she could handle the latter the former was doing her in to the point where even she was sick of salty fries and grease laden unknown meat patties. However it was the only thing Tim would eat, Bruce would kill her for ordering in and she just didn't have the energy to be Kayla Wayne for longer than the ten minutes it took to drive down the road.

She grabbed the fast food bag and knocked on the door. The same routine played out every time; it was the only way to keep Tim calm.

"Who is it?" Dick asked.

"Kayla," she called back. She dropped the bag in front of the door, took a step back and waited. The door crept open, a hand grabbed the bag and the door closed again.

She waited. Dick's muffled voice could be heard, "See Tim, it's just dinner."

"Make her come in," he responded nervously, "you'll protect me right?"

"Of course I will," Dick said soothingly. Then he called louder, "Kayla, can you come in here?"

She twisted the nob and braced herself for the sight and the smells that always assaulted her. There was always a certain musty scent that accumulated when people never left a room, combine that with the battle it was to get Tim to shower and the scent was always, powerful.

"Kayla," Dick greeted her. Physically Kayla would argue that he looked worse than Tim. Deep circles under his eyes, pale skin, baggy clothes and dull eyes made him look like the inmates he use to do battle against. His hair was a little too shaggy, Kayla had a sneaking suspicion he was developing a twitch and she couldn't remember the last time he'd worked out.

"Dick," she replied, "Tim." The boy wouldn't meet her eyes as he held out his burger towards her. She reached forward to grab it and Tim pressed tighter against Dick's side. This was actually an improvement; the scared little boy could be spoken too. It was when the Joker side made an appearance that they had a real problem. She grabbed the burger and took a bite, Tim watching her every second. Kayla overemphasized her swallowing of the greasy morsel then handed it back, "See? No poison."

Tim took the burger, "Now Dick's." She took his too and repeated the process glad that Tim was at least speaking today. Yes he didn't trust her, yes he was using her as a test for poison, but he was speaking to her. She reached back into the hallway and passed Dick a container of medical supplies. They were trying to remove as much of Tim's scarring as possible however he wasn't the best of patients.

Tim looked at her while he ate, watching her every motion as she passed bandages and ointments to Dick. He didn't stop watching her until she backed slowly out of the room, her parting words were, "I'll see you later Dick, little brother." She closed the door behind her, hearing Tim's sigh of relief broke her heart.

Still she carried on pulling her cart towards the last member of the household. She found Bruce in the BatCave gearing up as usual for patrol.

Kayla tossed him a burger, "How's the bite?"

"Fine," he growled, unwrapping the food with one hand while keeping the other on the keyboard.

Kayla rolled her eyes, "No need to be bitter, even the Almighty Batman needs his shots after getting bit by dog. It's not my fault you couldn't remember when Alfred last gave them to you." He ignored her, "you know if you'd let some partners back in…"

"No" he cut her off.

She threw her hands in the air, "You got bit by a dog last night Bruce, not even a dog. It was a little German Shepard puppy. What if that puppy had been a guy with a knife, or a gunshot, or poison, or a trap? You need someone watching your back."

"I'm fine." He threw the wrapper in the garbage and headed out.

Kayla followed, "No, you're distracted and I can't blame you. We all are. But you don't have to do this alone, what happens the next time you get stuck in a jam or there's a mass breakout or aliens try to take over the world? What happens the next time a puppy gets bored and thinks you're a chew toy? You need people who can help you."

He popped the door to the Batmobile.

"Bruce I've been stitching you up in these last few days more than Alfred ever did, and there hasn't even been anyone big out. Please, at least let Oracle on the line. Get Dick out of that room. Call the League. Call the Birds. Let me two-way radio with you. Heck, let me come. Anything."

Batman drove off alone and there was nothing she could do about it. Kayla sighed and settled into the chair in front of the computer, watching his vitals, praying tonight wouldn't be the night they flat lined. Her eyes wandered around the cave, eventually coming to the old costumes.

There was Dick's 'short-pants' Robin suit, Jason's version and more painfully to her, Tim's red version locked up in glass cases. The charred Nightwing costume had been given a place while Alfred was still in commission. There were various versions of the Batman suit, some just outdated, some more specific waiting to be called upon depending on the situation. There was an older version of Barbara's suit too, even worse than the one she'd worn before - the BatCave version sported a bright blue cape. Kayla stared at it for a moment then turned back to the monitor. She hesitated briefly, then started going through the latest Batman uniform specs.

An hour later she reached for the phone, "Hi this is Jessica from XKAEP Parts" she lied smoothly while reading off the screen, "I understand we ordered a thousand piece shipment from you a few months ago. No, the delivery was fine. There are no problems. Actually I'm looking to place another order." She paused, "Similar piece actually but a little smaller with some minor changes. If you're up for the commission I can send you the specs this evening." She smiled at the answer, "great, we'll be in touch." She set the phone down then turned back to the screens.

"Alright Dad," she muttered, "Where did you buy the cowl ears?"

* * *

><p>It had been just over a month since Batman quite the League, two weeks since Superman had gone to see him. The League was enduring, they'd gone on some intergalactic missions, endured the daily clean-ups and even faced off against a couple major foes all without Batman. Even Shayara had grudgingly admitted that although there had been some slip-ups nothing major had gone wrong without Batman. If anything the last month had been relatively quiet, without Batman there were far less briefings to attend, less training sessions to worry about and less vague leads to go chasing.<p>

It had Diana worried. She very much believed that this was the calm before the storm; Batman caught things before they began. Without him catching them Diana wondered what would happen when all the plans came swirling into fruition?

This for example was the first time that the League had seen the random assortment of seemingly pointless villains since J'onn had been burned alive and Batman had left them.

"You seem to be a little shorthanded today Diana," Cheetah purred, "don't think that means we're going to take it easy on you." The feline slashed her claws towards Wonder Woman's midsection. She was forced to bend into a U in order to avoid the blow but Cheetah managed to catch her with a swipe across the face. Blood dripped from her cheek in four separate lines but Diana and focused countered with a red boot sweeping Cheetah's feet out from under her.

Cheetah smirked as she rebounded easily, "Come now Diana, you should know that cats always land on their feet." Cheetah then sprung towards Wonder Woman claws outstretched. Diana timed it perfectly, she duck low and threw herself forward. With the skill that only a thousand years catching a discus can bring Wonder Woman plucked Cheetah out of sky by her tail and spun her into a nearby wall.

"Excuse me Minerva," Diana said as she sprinted by, wiping the blood from her face, "I've got other things to deal with right now." She wasn't joking, as far as Superman could tell the forty story building in front of them was rigged with a bomb. The villains who had previously seemed to cause random mayhem finally had a purpose, getting themselves between the League and the building. "Flash," Diana hollered, "Did you find it yet?"

"A-little-busy-Di" the words blew by her ears accompanied by a red blur followed by a yellow and then a purple one. Flash, Zoom and Parasite were zipping around the city as though it was standing still. Wally desperately trying to get through to sweep the building but being cut off at every turn. She'd lost track of J'onn but he'd agreed to keep a subtle mental link in case he was in trouble. She could still feel it tingling in the back of her head, he was fine.

A quick glance upwards showed that the air team wasn't having any more luck. Sinestro had reappeared and brought a friend, some kind of vile creature with an orange glow who kept insisting that he was going to 'take the green ring for himself'. The Toyman had a built another giant robot. Giganta too was stomping around. Bizarro was keeping Superman more than occupied. Finally Volcana, Firefly and Deathstroke were taking potshots at the heroes.

Wonder Woman forced herself to refocus, she was on ground patrol. Killer Frost, Shade and Black Manta still stood between her and her goal. They didn't give her any time to collect her bearings, mini torpedoes, a black haze and shards of ice all launched themselves at her. Grateful for the speed of Hermes Diana just managed to block them all with her bracers; Black Manta was suddenly in her face using his enhanced strength to knock her backwards. She slid back a few feet, bracers blocking her face. Ducking forward she grabbed Black Manta intent on breaking the glass dome about his head, instead she was forced to move them _both_ to safety as Killer Frost sent ice shards at them both, regardless of her teammate's safety.

"Being a hero huh?" Frost's tone clearly conveyed what she thought of the word hero, "if you'd use him as a body shield you could probably get through us."

"Probably," Shade agreed as he sent the blackness swirling towards Diana. With a little improvisation she wrapped Manta in an iron support beam, hoping it would hold him. She levitated slightly to avoid Shade and Frost's assault, while spinning her lasso around herself to keep the darkness at bay. Her eyes narrowed and she bit her lip as she assessed the situation.

Then just like that her opponents were gone, trapped under the fallen mass that was Giganta. Shayara waved from where she'd just hit the giantess with her mace and then turned her attention to the orange Lantern shouting, "Go Di!"

Diana sprinted into a low level flight pattern. Volcana, Deathstroke and Firefly had turned their long range shots in her direction but they seemed unwilling to engage her directly. They seemed more content to wait atop the building and aim from a distance. With a little weaving Diana easily made her way into the lobby of the building.

Superman had said that the bomb was on the third floor. A quick glance made no stairs apparent so she took a faster route, hands above her head and straight through the ceiling. Two floors later she emerged with plaster in her hair, the bomb right in front of her. She popped the lid off and examined the contents. It was semi-familiar, Batman had once insisted after the Joker TV incident that the entire League take a crash course in bomb deactivation. Although the entire League hadn't made it Diana herself had been in attendance. She would have been more comfortable waiting for the professionals but the quick glance at the clock indicated that she didn't have the time. Moving the bomb was out of the question too as she was fairly certain that the pad indicated that it was motion sensitive.

Wonder Woman took a deep breath and began. She grabbed the red metal collar and lifted it straight up ensuring that it didn't touch the sides of the cylinder. She recalled Batman saying something about magnetisation and that it could blow the bomb. She disconnected the blue wire, used her super strength to cut the yellow and black striped wire, and disconnected the red. Then she paused and bit her lip again, trying to recall if the final step was the black or green wire. The timer flashed at her, indicating just seconds. With Batman as her inspiration she sent a quick prayer to the gods and tugged out the black wire. The timer froze. Diana breathed a sigh of relief, even when not present Batman hadn't let her down. She activated her comm link, "I've defused the bomb."

"Way to go Di," Wally's enthusiasm was palpable, "Guess who tripped? Parasite, guess eye foot coordination doesn't come with the powers." His bravado was cut off by the sound of a bomb ripping through the air, but it wasn't the one in front of Diana. It was thirty-nine other bombs that had been scattered across Metropolis.

* * *

><p>"Idiot doctor," Luthor raged, "I knew I should have just run the tests myself." He turned to the room's other occupant, "Do you know how much time we've wasted?"<p>

An eyebrow was raised, "One month, two days, seventeen hours and thirty two minutes. We'll be fine." The man adjusted his suit slightly, "You were right Luthor, this monkey suit is feeling more like me every day."

Luthor rolled his eyes, "Of course I'm right." His rant began again, "That's why I should have done my own tests. You'd think a world famous doctor would be able to tell if a person was in remission or not. But no here we are with a month behind us when I could have been using the fact that I'm dying to my advantage."

"If it's any consolation," the man said, "It's easier for me that you're not in remission, I was not thrilled with the change in plans."

Lex allowed himself a smile, "The original plan is better, isn't it."

"Obviously," came the answer, "Especially with how well the Batman side has worked out."

"Still distracted?" Luthor asked.

The man nodded, "Almost to the point of complete ineffectiveness."

Luthor started pacing, "And the Joker?"

"Confirmed dead," there was no emotion in the man's voice, "not by Batman but by the old sidekick." Luthor contemplated that while the man continued, "however we do have Harley Quinn if you're interested in speaking to her further."

Lex shook his head, "And the League?"

"Our League struck this morning," Lex's thought was confirmed, "there were a few minor hiccups but the general goal was achieved perfectly."

"Onto the next phase then," Lex said almost jovially. "I'll tell you Alex, I should have tried dying years ago. It makes everything better.

Alex's glare made even Lex squirm on the inside, "If you must persist in using names Lex at least use Alexander instead of that garish nickname."

"Fine, fine," Lex waved him off, "Where are we on establishing a grand finale?"

Alexander was prevented from answering when the door swung open and Mercy Graves walked in, clipboard on her arm. He quickly pulled himself up into the quiet, frightening image of a good personal security guard. "Lex," she said, "we're finally up a point in the polls and we need to stay there." She subconsciously swerved around Alexander, "So you've got meetings in Metropolis and Starr City tomorrow. That speech after the bombings was gold, you're hot right now and I intend to keep it that way. And you need more press with the Justice League; the next President of the United States needs to be on good terms with them."

Lex's smile was not reassuring, "Don't worry Mercy, the League and I will be spending some quality time together."

Mercy rolled her eyes then consulted her clipboard again, "Your doctor was found brutally murdered in a back alley." She appraised her employer, "I don't suppose there's something you want to tell me about your health or lack thereof."

"If you needed to know," Lex snapped, "you'd know."

The sarcasm shone through, "I'm sure." Mercy didn't even bother looking at the clipboard, "And finally we're stilling running that facial recognition scan as requested but it's seriously eating into even our resources. I'd suggest that we stop…"

"The project stays," Luthor said firmly glancing first at Alexander and then back at Mercy, "it will be completed and you will alert me as soon as we get any other hits above 80. Now go away, I'm thinking."

As soon as the door closed behind her Alexander threw Lex a disk, "Here, it's today's attack."

He popped it into the lavish TV that appeared from the ceiling, "I don't suppose I could convince you to change our bargain to a fair trade." Lex said with an air of calculation.

Alexander smiled as though this amused him, "Our deal is more than fair, I am after all dealing with all the dirty work. A small price to pay to bring down the almighty Superman; I know as well as you that it's only a small matter to honor my request," it wasn't phrased like a request, "to include the entire League in your initial plan."

Lex nodded and poured himself a glass of wine, "It may in fact enhance it. I'll go down in history as the man who exposed the Justice League. However," Lex continued, "it's this pet project of yours that's eating up a chunk of my resources. I'm surprised that you of all mankind," Lex corrected himself at the murderous look on Alexander's face, "that you of all creatures in existence would bother with a human girl."

"The benefit of having the original copy," Alexander countered, "cannot be underestimated." Then he smirked, "besides I've never liked Amanda Waller." He accepted the glass that Luthor held out and swallowed.

Lex raised an eyebrow, "Not worried I've poisoned it in my attempt to kill you?"

"It's unlikely you'd succeed," the young man said lazily.

"Kryptonite dust would work," Lex offered calmly.

Alexander took another swallow, "If you say so _Lex_." Then he pointed to the screen, "And to answer your previous question, keep the Superman bit if you like but ultimately I'd suggest Flash."

* * *

><p><strong>Piece of a laptop, just a piece, sorry for the typo in the last chapter. Did you forget about Lex and his presidential plans? Never forget about Lex! I promise that I don't just throw characters in for the heck of it. And i'm sure you've all got your own ideas about Alexander. I've started pulling together plot threads so I hope you're beginning to piece together my puzzle! (although not too much, I do like a little mystery)<strong>


	29. Lasso of Truth

Bruce Wayne didn't even look up when the door to his office clicked open, "Joanne," he said addressing the person he assumed was his secretary, "can you call Lucius and tell him that I'm going to be unavailable for the next 24 hours. Tim's taken a bad turn and I'm heading home. Tell him that if Lex calls again to tell him some witty analogy about elephants and monkeys, I liked that one he used the other day."

"I'll make a note of it Mister Wayne," a light voice said that obviously wasn't Joanne.

His head shot up. There was a brief flicker of confusion as he tried to reconcile the figure in front of him with his surroundings then his eyes narrowed and he said, "Diana."

She ignored him and continued to meander leisurely into the room, "Founding member of the Justice League to Bruce Wayne's secretary, that's a career trajectory I never saw coming."

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice somewhere between the growl and the playboy.

"Your secretary really is pleasant," Diana continued ignoring him, "much smarter than those models you're trying to pass off as reception on the first floor. Did you know that Joanne's engaged? She's getting married in a month; you should get her a good present for putting up with you. Give her an all-expense paid honeymoon or something. Incidentally," Diana said with a glint in her eyes, "she's a big fan of the League, apparently we saved her father from that quake in Kentucky. She was more than happy to let me in."

Bruce crossed his arms, "She just let you waltz right in here when I said I didn't want to be disturbed. I don't think that merits a reward."

"She did give me some friendly girl to girl advice though," Diana sat down nonchalantly in the chair across from Bruce's desk and sinking slightly into the plush leather, "apparently I can do way better than you. Something about 'you may be rich but I'm still way out of your league. She's seen too many bimbos stroll through your door.'" Diana considered it, "It was nice of her to think of me."

"Diana," Bruce growled, slightly exasperated, "why are you here?"

She took pity on him, "To see you of course."

"I'm not coming back to the League" he snapped.

"I never asked you to, did I?" She countered.

He gaped slightly before he caught himself and said, "Then what do you need Wonder Woman," he emphasized the title, "I'm afraid I'm a little short on time."

"I'm here for you." She said calmly.

His eye twitched slightly, "thanks but no thanks. Just leave me alone Diana." She didn't move so he forced himself to continue despite the harshness of the words, "I can't have the League in my life at all," he made himself spit, "or did you forget what happened to Tim? I can't have that happening again. Every second you're here is putting him in danger, putting Dick and Kayla and Alfred in danger. So Diana," he met her eyes, "get out."

He saw the pain flash across her face and then saw her force it back down. She bit her lip as she considered her next words then lifted her chin and delivered the argument that would either save or damn her, "You're not thinking about this the right way Bruce. My presence here is to save the rest of your family from a similar fate."

Bruce was intrigued despite himself, she could see it on his face, "I doubt it."

She held up a slim finger, "It's actually quite simple. Bruce Wayne and Batman can't stop associating with the Justice League at the same time. Batman clearly isn't part of the League anymore and people have already started to speculate about what the 'playboy'" Diana used air quotes, "could have done to offend the 'princess'. You can't risk someone putting the timing together, it's more dangerous than Bruce Wayne just being Bruce Wayne and hitting on Wonder Woman."

His eyes narrowed as he tried to find an objection to her point, there was nothing good. She watched him for a moment, inwardly sighing with relief when he didn't give an immediate rebuttal. However she knew he was still Batman, given enough time he'd come up with something so she cut off his train of thought, "So here's what's going to happen Bruce," she said sweetly. "We're going to waltz downstairs arm in arm, we're going to get in your limo and then we're both going to go to the Manor."

"You are not coming to the-" Bruce began

Diana cut him off again, "Yes I am because we've wasted enough time here. Didn't you just say that you needed to get home and see Tim? I'll be a good little houseguest and leave you alone once we're inside. Now get up, paste on that stupid smile and let's go."

He stared at her then began mechanically gathering up his things as though he almost couldn't believe that this was happening.

She waited until they were almost out the office door before saying, "And Bruce? Don't forget to try and grab my ass." Then she winked and pulled him out the door.

* * *

><p>It always baffled Diana how quickly the press appeared when something 'interesting' was going on. When she'd entered the building there were none, when she and Bruce exited there was a small hoard. Sometimes she suspected they had superspeed.<p>

Bruce Wayne of course took the whole thing in stride but Diana's momentary confusion meant that when Bruce went for her butt as directed she neglected to swat his hand away and he actually got there. She wasn't sure who was more surprised, him or her. Of course he didn't show it by immediately putting on the right Bruce Wayne attitude but she was close enough to sense the change in posture. Either way, the reporters exploded and Diana dreaded to think what the tabloids would say tomorrow. She prayed to Aphrodite that this particular story wouldn't make its way to her mother.

She smiled, removed his hand and then took it in her own until they got to the limo. Uncomfortable silence reigned. Diana stared out the window. She looked at her hands. She stared out the window again.

"You're getting shy on me now?" Bruce's voice cut through the silence, "one second it's grab my ass and the next you're unable to make eye contact. I've met quite a few woman and none," he met her eyes, "have been quite as perplexing as you."

She wasn't sure how to take that, "Well you don't exactly follow the manual yourself."

He chuckled once. Then changed the topic, "That was quite the speech Luthor gave."

Diana frowned, "Only Lex Luthor would be able to turn a tragedy into a promotional speech for himself."

"And bad press for the League," Batman threw in.

Diana glared at him, "Yes thanks for the reminder, because 'Wonder Woman's Mistake Devastates Metropolis' scrawled across the top of a newspaper didn't do the trick."

"The sarcasm's new," Bruce said blithely.

"Well we've all had to pick pieces of your personality to throw into our own repertoires."

"Don't tell me you've started brooding too," Bruce said, "It doesn't suit you."

Diana raised an eyebrow, "No not quite, but I did catch Superman lurking in a dark corner."

Batman joined the conversation, "What are your plans to combat Luthor's anti-League campaign?"

"I thought you didn't associate with the League anymore?" Diana teased.

Bruce leaned back, "I don't, but Bruce Wayne can be curious can't he?"

Diana shook her head, "We're opening up the League to new members."

"Replacing me already?" Then he grew serious, "Diana you had better make sure these people know what they're doing. You can't let just anyone up onto that tower."

"We know Bruce," Diana said sharply, "But at the same time Luthor is right, the seven of us don't have a monopoly on being heroes and there are plenty of people out there who do good work. We need to give them the opportunity. Besides, we can be much more effective if we pool our collective resources."

He crossed his arms, "Just be careful, you don't need more people getting hurt."

"I'll keep it in mind." Diana said, "but we can't exactly demand secret identities as a requirement for membership."

"True, but I didn't mean that." Bruce leaned forward, "I meant do you really want to get a bunch of novices and kids up there. Because what if they can't handle themselves, what if something bad happens? Can you look me in the eye Diana and tell me that you won't feel responsible for their safety? Responsible for their death? Because I can tell you, even if they have great abilities and it's the thing they love most in the world, even if they have no regrets – you will. The only way to truly protect them is to keep them out of it." The limo stopped and they got out of the car and walked into the Manor.

"Like what you did in Gotham Bruce? Has that really worked out for you?" Diana asked afraid he was right but not wanting to admit it.

He met her eyes again, "It would have if someone had told me this when I first met Dick. Don't make my mistake."

She hesitated and knew that he saw it. But Diana nodded and then headed off to kill time in the library for a few hours while the press assumed they were having a 'date'. She was curious but didn't feel right prying further into Bruce's life.

* * *

><p>Just over an hour later screaming changed her mind. Diana couldn't help herself, she pounded up the stairs and followed the ear splitting scream down the hallway. The voice was horse as though this was a common occurrence. A small body tackled her before she could reach the doorway and Diana instinctively slammed the opposing force into the ground.<p>

"Ow," Kayla Wayne stared back at her, "you can't go in there okay?" The girl insisted, "You might set him off, he doesn't know you. He doesn't know me half the time. Let the guys handle it, he usually knows them."

Diana hoisted Kayla back to her feet, "Sorry about that, reflex."

"It's happened before it'll happen again." Something about the girl was too nonchalant that it bothered Diana, an eighteen year old shouldn't be so calm while screams like that were going off just behind them.

Diana bit her lip, "Are you sure we can't?" She gestured towards the room.

"Positive." Kayla said, steering Wonder Woman away, "Tim can't tell truth from lies anymore. The Joker did a number on his memories, we figure because he's got so many of Dick, Alfred and Bruce that Joker couldn't ruin them all. But people like me, whom he's only know for a little while? No chance." She scrutinized Diana, "I really don't want to know what the Joker made him think of the Justice League. Sometimes he still thinks that the Joker was right and that Batman is out to kill him or that Batman is evil or that Joker is his father or that he has to kill Dick or…" She took a breath, "sorry I'm babbling. Bruce would kill me if he knew I was telling 'an outsider' stuff. It's just nice to see the League around again." She leaned against the stairwell banister, "I heard from Oracle about the League's recruiting, this part of your plan to get Batman back?"

Diana observed the girl, "There is no plan. We'd love to have Batman back but the League has decided to not meddle in his life."

A small grin light Kayla's face, "then why are you here?"

"I said the League decided," Diana gave the young Wayne a smirk, "this is more of a friends sort of plan."

She sagged slightly against the railing, "Good, I was afraid I was the only one who was plotting." Kayla flapped a hand down the hallway, "Well the screams stopped, looks like Tim muddled his way back to some kind of truthful memory."

Diana stared at Kayla without really seeing her then turned and strode down the hallway. Kayla looked alarmed and trotted after her, "uh Wonder Woman?"

Diana stopped just outside the doorway, "Bruce would you come out here for a minute."

"Not now," Bruce's voice was soothing but Diana knew he wasn't impressed.

She gave him five seconds and then said, "That wasn't a request. Come out or I'm coming in."

Kayla looked nervous and for a moment Wonder Woman thought that the girl actually intended on stopping her from entering the room.

Fortunately Bruce joined them in the hallway, "what?" he snapped.

"Tim can't see the truth," Diana said simply, "I might be able to fix that." She held up her lasso for the Waynes to see.

Bruce's eyes fixated on it, "We don't know what that will do to him."

"Have you made any real progress?" Diana asked.

"Some," Bruce said gruffly.

Diana laid a hand on his shoulder and Kayla's eyes grew wide when he didn't shake her off, "Let me help Bruce. We'll just try it for a few seconds; I promise I'll try not to hurt him."

She could see him calculating, "Give me a minute to warn Tim." He stepped back into the room.

"This isn't going to end well," Kayla muttered, "the truth always hurts." She sunk to the floor and leaned against the wall, looking up at Diana, "good luck."

Bruce called her from the room and she stepped inside, unsure as to the state Tim would be in. He was cackling, not quite the Joker laugh but close. Dick had his arms wrapped around the boy ensuring that he wouldn't do any damage, however Tim wasn't struggling. He was just watching, eternally watching. His eyes roving from person to person and keeping the sadistic chuckle rolling. Bruce was crouched next to Tim speaking to him quietly while Alfred stood just to the side a medical syringe in hand to be safe.

He didn't react well to Diana. The second he spotted her his eyes locked on her, he winced slightly and the laugh became more maniacal. Dick struggled to hold him still as Tim wiggled in his arms.

"It's normal," Bruce's voice was soft, like one talking to a spooked animal, "he does the same thing when Kayla comes in."

Diana nodded and continued to walk forward, keeping her eyes on Tim and uncoiling the lasso. Tim eyed it like it was poison, the laughter increasing.

She crouched in front of him, maintaining eye contact, "Tim," she spoke softly, "this will probably hurt a little bit but I promise it's going to help you." She looked over a Bruce who nodded. Diana took a deep breath and wrapped the now glowing rope around Tim's wrist.

The screams split the house. Tim's cry was guttural and helpless, he fought to escape Dick's grasp, to get away from the evil glowing snake. They just seemed to go on and on. In moments Dick's arms were shaking and tears poured from his eyes. Suddenly Dick seemed to snap, he screamed" take it off!" He yelled while attempting to remove the lasso himself, "you're hurting him!"

Even stronger arms wrapped around Dick now holding him in place as he sought to free Tim. There may have been a time when Dick could best Bruce but it wasn't now. Not when he hadn't worked out in months, not when he wasn't thinking clearly, not when he was trying to free Tim. Alfred had gone pale watching the scene but Diana didn't take her eyes from where the rope touched Tim, calculating how much he could take. Knowing that the pain was necessary and regretting the necessity of the action.

Tim's scream was decreasing in volume but Dick's was growing as he shouted obscenities at her and Bruce but Diana persevered. She could see Bruce out of the corner of her eye, straining to keep both boys steady and not saying a word. Diana wanted to release them all but she could feel through her connection with the lasso just how close they were. She could physically see Tim returning, she just needed them all to hang on. She prayed to the gods that they would hurry the process.

In that brief second of broken concentration she missed Dick taking a cheap shot and kicking Bruce in the nuts with the heel of his foot. The Dark Knight couldn't help instinct and briefly weakened his hold. It was all Dick needed, even months in a small room couldn't remove training. He released Tim and jumped towards Wonder Woman, shouting something about hurting his brother.

Diana shifted his attack without much of a problem but she misgauged his intentions. Dick whirled instantly and managed to knock the lasso from her fingers. Diana's eyes widened knowing that with this delicate of a process the lasso couldn't be left unchecked on someone. A quick check at Tim showed that he was in no condition to remove the lasso from his wrist himself, unchecked the golden rope would kill him.

Wonder Woman didn't like it but forced herself to send Dick flying across the room as he tried to get between her and her weapon. Three hands grabbed the lasso at the same time. Bruce's hand had closed over the rope on Tim's arm, Kayla had run into the room at the commotion and gotten a hold of the rope, Diana's hand closed on it third. The lasso's glow became brighter then grew to encompass the room.

After a moment the glow dimmed back to the lasso's normal level and Diana deftly pulled the rope from Tim's wrist. A thick band of scar tissue now ran around the joint and Diana winced in sympathy, she too had felt the lasso's bite before. Tim appeared unconscious and Bruce was running a vitals check.

"He appears physically fine," Bruce said at last, "but we'll have to wait until he regains consciousness to establish the state of his mind."

Diana nodded and turned to Dick who was still on the floor from where she slammed him into the wall. She held out a hand to help him up, "My apologies." He ignored her, pushing himself to his feet and storming off into the bathroom. Alfred looked mortified but Diana stopped him before he could apologize on Dick's behalf, "It's okay," she said, "he's been through quite a bit."

Bruce hoisted Tim into a nearby bed and with a tenderness that almost betrayed the Batman persona tucked him under the sheets.

She heard Alfred's voice murmuring behind her and turned. He was kneeling beside Kayla. The girl was sitting awkwardly on the floor, tears pouring from her eyes and clenching and unclenching her fists. The motion made Diana remember something, the Waynes wouldn't have been protected as she was when they attempted the take her position on the lasso. "Let me see your hands," she commanded.

Kayla didn't respond but Bruce said gruffly, "they're fine."

She gave him a look, then marched over, flipped his hands around and examined his palms. They were covered in red welts. She traced them gently.

He yanked his hands back, "they're fine I said. They'll heal, I've had worse."

Diana forced herself to nod and turned to Kayla, "Let me see yours. I need to make sure the lasso didn't do any permanent damage."

She didn't say anything, just flipped her hands over. There were no scars or burns. Diana's eyebrows shot under her tiara as she reached out and grabbed Kayla's hands, examining them. They were fine.

Like her father Kayla yanked her hands back, "I'm fine." She picked herself up and nearly ran out of the room. Alfred stepped quietly after her. Bruce stared at Tim.

Diana coiled her lasso and returned to her belt, "I'm going to leave now Bruce," she said quietly, "please keep me informed of Tim's status. I'd like to help if I can."

He didn't respond so she put a hand on his arm in a moment of solidarity, then turned to leave.

The brokenness of his voice stopped her, "Diana, tomorrow, with the recruits. I know your intentions are good but just remember what you've seen here. Don't let it happen to anyone else." She waited for him to say more but he didn't.

So she did, "Bruce," she paused, "Batman, your spot is always open if you want it."

* * *

><p>Alfred followed Kayla all the way through the Manor, in the clock, down the stairwell where she finally stopped in the examination room. He knew she knew he was there, so he waited patiently while she stared at the cold steel tables.<p>

At last she spoke, "My life is a lie Alfred."

He spoke kindly, "I can't believe that Miss Kayla."

"It's true Alfred," she spoke harshly, "My entire life, my entire background is a lie. It's one big cover story. Kayla's not even my name Alfred, it's just a cop-out. My birth certificate, drivers licence, everything, it's all just forgery. I don't even exist. I shouldn't exist."

"Miss Kayla," he began.

She cut him off, "don't Alfred, just don't. You don't even know,_ I am a lie_. I'm always lying; it's how I was made. Hear that? I was made, not born. Put together at the genetic level like some freak, given a number not a name, given a purpose. I'm not Kayla, Alfred, and I'm certainly not Kayla Wayne. This isn't even my face Alfred, did you know that?" The butler hid his surprise. "It's one of Bruce's creations, a super-duper mask. Similar but not the same, I couldn't even keep my real face. It's under here. I'm a lie Alfred. I hide behind a mask and a name and lies. All lies. Bloody lies."

"Kayla Martha Wayne," Alfred snapped. She stopped only because of his tone, Alfred didn't snap. She'd seen him get angry at Bruce, deal with Tim and Dick and never once raise his voice. "You are not a lie. Yes your circumstances have required a false background and your childhood was less than desirable but that does not make you a lie. It makes the world around you a lie, it is perpetrating the lie that you are a lie and Miss Wayne," Alfred emphasized. "You are not. You are you, nothing more and nothing less. That is not a lie. Your past means nothing, the only thing that matters is how you choose to shape your future."

"I don't know who I am Alfred," she retorted, "so anything that I am is a lie."

Alfred suddenly changed tones, "So why don't we find out Miss?" He laid a hand on her arm and guided her back towards the main section of the Cave.

"You are," Alfred began, "first and foremost yourself and only you can decide who that is. You are also a Wayne. Although Master Bruce considers many his children you have the sole responsibility of carrying the Wayne line, don't ever forget that Miss Kayla. You belong to a long line of kind and caring people. You are a sister and you have a family who cares for you. You are a human," Alfred missed the slight darkening of Kayla's face, "of planet Earth. You are a person. And most importantly Miss Kayla Wayne, you are loved. Dearly loved and cherished for all that this house fails at demonstrating that." Alfred looked Kayla square in the eye, "You Miss Wayne are whomever you want to be regardless of what anyone tells you, only you decide your destiny. Look at me Kayla," he demanded, "you and only you."

She nodded once.

"However I suppose there is one additional aspect to include. You are a highly trained individual regardless," Alfred cut off her protest," of how you obtained that training or for what it was intended. In addition you are the daughter of Batman, this combination entitles you to certain privileges."

Kayla looked up quizzically.

"Miss Kayla did you really think that you could attempt to create a Batsuit without my notice? I am in charge of the house hold funds."

Kayla's jaw dropped, "But I was so careful, I routed everything and…"

"Miss Kayla," Alfred grinned wryly, "who do you think made the original calls to those companies and set up all the accounts? There is very little my dear that goes on without my knowledge."

Kayla started talking very quickly, "Look Alfred I know that Bruce won't like it but I think it's the only way to get him back in the League and I know what I'm doing and I promise that I can be careful. I've been training to help control myself. I'll be super careful. He can't go out there on his own and he's withering away and seeing Wonder Woman today was so good for him. And…"

At the beginning of her speech Alfred had smiled and pressed a small button on the computer monitor, Kayla cut-off when she noticed what he'd done. An additional costume cage had risen to join the others, a Batgirl suit gleamed inside.

"I took the liberty of assembling and making modification," Alfred remarked absently, "I hope that is acceptable."

* * *

><p><strong>This originally was a super long chapter, we're looking at upwards of 8000 words and I wasn't finished the train of thought yet. Not wanting to scare you all I rearranged and cut it in chunks, thus the time delay, I wrote a chapter and a half. I wasn't sure how i wanted to approach Tim and the lasso, I'm still not sure this is the best way to go but we're plunging ahead anyway. Sorry if the tone's different, I find Batman easier to write perspective wise so I forced myself to try Diana. Don't forget the little bits and bobs, Lex's campaign for pres is getting stronger and people are upset about the League messing up the bombs. I know there's a bunch of plots to follow but I don't put a paragraph in unless it has a point, Kayla's reaction, Dick's reaction all important! Assuming of course that you care ;) <strong>

**I can even give you a bite of the next chapter: our League expands from Justice League to Justice League Unlimited**


	30. Unlimited and Unparalleled

Diana was pacing. The moment she'd landed on the Watchtower after leaving Wayne Manor she had started pacing. It was now four hours later and she was still pacing up and down the hallways. It wasn't as if she didn't have room, with tomorrows addition of new League members they'd expanded the Watchtower using UN funding and their new benefactor Queen Industries. She'd stopped once, only to discover that to stop pacing meant getting creepily close to Batman's brooding. Wonder Woman didn't brood, she pondered so she paced.

She couldn't get the Batclan out of her head. Tim's scars, his laugh. Dick's desperation. Oracle's frantic voice. Kayla's dead eyes. Alfred's desperate attempt to hold them together. Bruce's guilt, his burden. She thought of her own family, Donna and Cassie, and how she would react if something like that ever happened to them. The realization wasn't pleasant, relatively speaking Batman was handling things better than she would have. Diana knew that she couldn't stop the process they'd started of bringing in new members, she believed it was the right choice. But Bruce was right too, she had to find a way to help keep them safe.

At 4AM Diana called a mandatory emergency League founder meeting. The faces that greeted her were not particularly happy. They looked even worse when the six emerged four hours later. An hour of sleep later they still didn't look much better.

"Please," Flash begged, "pretty pretty please. Just this once? Even I'm tired."

Shayara clung to her coffee mug like it was a lifeline, "You know the rule Red. Under no circumstances allow The Flash to have coffee while he's working. That was a disaster I don't wish to repeat." She drained her mug, "And no pure sugar either, we don't need you to be freaking out the newbies." Wally looked at her like she'd just kicked a puppy. Shayara sighed, "Fine, there's chocolate stashed under the sink."

Wally was gone in a Flash.

"We're going to regret that." John had his own mug. Shayara shrugged and swapped John's full mug for her empty one, wincing as she tasted the black coffee. John glared but let her have it.

"Any sleep deprived mistakes I make today," Shayara said, "Are solely blamed on Diana and her early morning meeting."

John shook his head, "You voted with her. We all did eventually, it was a good point."

Shayara shuffled her wings, "But she couldn't have thought of it earlier?"

"At least we're not on newbie duty." John said putting a hand on her shoulder.

She sighed and leaned into him, "I suppose so. I wonder how they're making out with the noobs."

"Shayara we talked about this." Superman entered with Diana and J'onn on his heels, "You cannot call the new members 'noobs'."

She tilted her head to look at him, "You really don't want to push this right now. I'm tired and cranky and really resenting that fact that I'm the only alien here who needs sleep to function properly." She cricked her neck and stretched her wings, "they all pass?"

"No." J'onn was blunt, "Diana's lasso detected a few applicants with negative intentions towards the League. They have been returned to Earth." The process had been simple enough. Each applicant had gone into a booth one by one where the end of the lasso was waiting for them. Diana was holding the other end, because the lasso had a tendency to elicit truthful comments beyond what was asked for, she was unable to see the applicant to maintain their privacy.

Then all they had to say with their hand on the lasso of truth was that "I _ intend no harm of any kind to the current Justice League or any of its future members and I in no way intend to harm the people of Earth or any other nation but will instead strive to protect them." If any part of this statement was a lie and lasso burned and the applicant was escorted from the Watchtower, and then thoroughly watched and investigated.

Shayara raised an eyebrow, "So how many are we left with?"

"Roughly forty," Diana curled the lasso back up

"Including sidekicks?" Flash had returned grinning, a mouth coated in chocolate.

Superman rubbed his forehead, "Yes Flash, but we don't use that word anymore either. We're all equals here regardless of age." Then his eyes narrowed, "Who gave you chocolate?"

"And we should go welcome them!" Shayara shoved past them all rapidly to the main area, "You're up Superman, time for your big speech. Don't forget to tell them about Diana's last minute changes."

"They're not gonna be happy," John cautioned.

"Hey come on now," Flash said, "It could be fun if you get into it. Besides I want to see what you guys can do when we're not close to immanent death!"

The first word of Superman's speech was "Welcome!" Diana tuned out after that. She loved Kal like a brother but he could be overly wordy. She looked at the faces standing just before them, wondering about the future of the League. She knew this was the right choice but looking out at the sea of faces made her heart ache slightly as it mourned the death of their close-knit little family of seven, not six, seven.

A sudden roar cut off her train of thoughts. It was general sound of people talking, "You didn't say anything about a test." A voice called from the crowd.

Superman raised his hands, "Test is the wrong word."

"These are Batman tryouts aren't they?" Another voice called, "You're just looking for a replacement."

"No-one is replacing Batman," Superman's words immediately silenced all others. Although the Man of Steel hadn't yelled there was clearly power wrapped up in those words. "The League has expanded. This means new teams will be created, new patterns and strategies used, new powers and abilities joining, new people and personalities. We need to know what those are and how to best use them. The only way to know what they are is for you to show us what you can do, and we will show you."

There was general muttering.

"It could be kind of fun," Flash put in. He zoomed down into the crowd, "I mean come on. Haven't you always wondered if Wonder Woman could beat Superman in an arm wrestle? Watch a Green Lantern Showdown? See the beautiful ladies among us spar? Watch me and young generation whoop our mentors' butts? See who shots fastest? Flies highest? Hacks hackerest? Is most likely to cut your head off with a sword?" Flash threw his hands in the air, "because I know I do." He grinned, "I run, that's about it. Nothing fancy, we all do it. So I want to see the awesomeness that's going to be saving my behind every five seconds. You can't tell me there's not something cool you do that you want to show off or some 'Ultimate Showdown' that you don't want to see. Cause if you don't, speak now as I'd like a word with your imagination!"

No-one spoke up.

Flash's smile lit up the room, "Excellent!" He zoomed back to Superman and patted him on the shoulder, "And back to you big man!"

So they kicked it off as Flash suggested, once they found a table that was strong enough Superman arm-wrestled Wonder Woman. She held him to a stalemate for almost fifteen minutes, the whole group had gathered around them cheering and taking bets. Kal grinned at her over their wavering hands. They both knew how this would end, she could hold him temporarily but not indefinitely. Diana gave him a quick wink that only superspeed could catch and let her arm slam back into the table, leaving an imprint. There were cheers from most of the men and bets were collected. All strength levels were invited to try, some without super strength like when Green Arrow challenged Wildcat while others, like when Donna wiped the floor with Supergirl, left their own marks in the table.

So the day went on. They focused on the 'common' superpowers. For example flight, Superman was fastest, the Green Lanterns went highest, Shayara the best aerial manoeuvres, and Booster Gold the best aim when falling. Javelin flying was a category of its own.

Diana's favourite however was the footrace. Three laps around the Earth and back to the Watchtower. Flash swept the field. He had time to win by a lap and half, stop to pick flowers and personally hand one to every single female member of the League with a gallant bow. The speed of Hermes and the power of Krypton had nothing on the 'simple runner'.

* * *

><p>Donna caught up with her that night in her room, "You could have held Superman longer."<p>

Diana shrugged, "Even arm wrestling loses its appeal after a few hours for the same conclusion." Diana smiled at her sister, "You made up for it by beating Kara."

Donna smiled modestly but a third voice chimed in, "That was totally cool Donna! Don't deny it, you cleaned her clock in like ten seconds." WonderGirl flew into the room, "Also FYI Superboy is a total babe, awkward but hot."

The sisters smiled at their younger companion, "Had a good day?" Donna asked teasingly.

"No duh!" Cassie cried, "I'm in the Justice League! This is totally crash."

Diana raised an eyebrow, "Crash?"

"Kid Flash says it a lot," Cassie explained, "He's the little red head kid in the red and white spandex. Apparently he's from the future." Cassie rolled her eyes, "As if I'm going to buy that."

"Seems like you met a bunch of boys," Donna teased, "Getting a little ahead of ourselves here eh?"

Cassie stuck out her tongue, "You know it's mostly guys here. And I can't just go up to like Black Canary or something and start talking, that would be weird. I'm still just a sidekick. But no, there are girls my age like Speedy, Stargirl, Miss Martian. Besides Donna" Cassie's grin was wicked, "I saw you chatting up Red Arrow, that one Green Lantern, Cyborg, Flash and a couple others."

Donna blushed and Diana promptly pushed her off the bed with a laugh, "Donna Troy! What would mother say?"

Donna's eyes gleamed, "That depends."

"On?" Diana prompted.

"On how upset she gets when I promptly tell her that her first born has a total crush on Batman!" Donna cackled.

"I do not," Diana protested, taking a swipe at her sister.

"Mmmmhmmm," Donna said, "I think you've been holding out on us. Check out what Flash showed me." Donna tossed a photo her way. Diana examined it and blushed instantly. It was a shot of her sitting on Bruce's lap and because it was taken during 'the sticking incident' it appeared that they were holding hands.

"This is out of context," Diana said firmly.

"Tut tut," Cassie said, "that blush doesn't lie Di. Besides we could just go 'the womanizer Bruce Wayne' route instead!" Cassie looked at Donna, "I've got a photo montage of all the newspaper clippings, and my favourite is the one where he's groping her butt." Diana turned redder.

* * *

><p>"And where have you been?" Bruce Wayne's figure suddenly filled her doorway.<p>

Kayla didn't even look up, "Out and about." She typed something with a flourish and then turned, "How's Tim? Can I see him yet?"

Bruce appeared to be examining her carefully, "Where is out and about exactly?"

"I don't know," Kayla's voice was perfectly exasperated, "Here and there, shopping, lunch, I went on a tour of Gotham State, bought a dress, met some new people, watched people, worked on some files," she waved a hand at her laptop, "Tim, yes or no?"

Bruce's eyes softened slightly, "Yes, I think you can. He knows me; he appears to have most of his memories. Wonder Woman's lasso appears to have at least partially done the trick. Leslie says it will still be a long road but he's better."

Kayla leapt across the room and ran down the hall. Bruce's eyes swept her room, narrowed and then followed her. Kayla stopped in front of the door, took a deep breath and cracked it open, "Tim?"

The light voice spoke back, "Kayla? Please tell me you're in the process of talking some sense into Bruce." He could hear Kayla burst into happy tears and enter the room. A very large part of Bruce wanted to as well; his son appeared to be back.

He backtracked into the room and stopped in front of Kayla's computer. It detailed a brutal murder in Metropolis. The victim's cause of death was listed as 'blunt trauma to cranium'; upon a quick glance at the scan it became obvious that was being kind. His entire skull was collapsed inward, literally blending his brain into mush. Bruce shook his head; obviously a Meta inflicted injury, a very strong Meta. Then his eyes hit on Kayla's interest, the victim's name was Paul Westfield, a high level Cadmus executive.

Bruce shook his head again and backed out of the room. He'd be keeping a closer eye on her, he was The Batman, he'd expressly forbidden involvement in anything like this, she didn't like it - too bad.

* * *

><p>Day 2 of the Justice League Unlimited showcased a more specific skill set. Red Tornado and his wind. Black Lightning and his electricity. Plastic Man and Elongated Man checked who could stretch farther, Plastic Man won by literally a stretched nose.<p>

Some people were surprised. For instance Zatanna smirkingly challenged anyone to a magic competition, sure that she was the only one trained in the mystic arts. Her jaw hit the floor when Dr Fate came forward and willingly accepted defeat when he turned the room inside out.

Red Arrow challenged Speedy and Green Arrow to an archery contest. Huntress stepped forward as well.

"Problem Green Jeans?" she asked sweetly, "Or do crossbows not count?" She didn't wait for a reply, "I'll go first." The bolt hit a direct bulls-eye. The Arrows gaped slightly while Speedy smirked.

Black Canary shouted from the audience, "Go get 'em H! Gotham represent!" Canary's scream hadn't been able to stand against Blue Beetle's sonics. Although in her defence he had four, she only had one mouth.

"No woman," Green Arrow muttered, "with a crossbow and dressed in _purple_ is going to show me up."

"Statistically," an expressionless voice spoke up from behind a faceless mask, "Huntress has a better hit to miss ratio than you."

The woman in mention both grinned and glared at the Question, "Have you been stalking me?"

"Don't be ridiculous," He tipped his fedora at her, "I stalk everyone."

Green Arrow ended up winning. Huntress stalked over and forced herself into the seat beside Question, "So, you want to run those stats again Q?"

They were treated to a show of ice, shape sifting, size manipulation and fire. Then Mr Terrific stood up, "Hacking, none of us have been given clearance yet, first to hack into the Watchtower deepframe wins." he said simply. A dozen or so got up and made their way to computer monitors around the room. "Ready, set, go."

Roughly twenty minutes later female voice called out, "Done."

She was immediately followed by a second voice, "Done." It was Mr Terrific, "Who was first?" He asked while scanning the room, none appeared finished.

"That would be me," the voice said. Heads whipped around the room, trying to find the source.

Black Canary caught on first, "No way, is that you Oracle?"

A holographic projector fizzled to life and a redheaded woman with a Bat-Domino mask on grinned at her, "In the cyber flesh."

"For those who don't know," Superman cut in, "this is Oracle. She's agreed to work with us as a secondary computer source."

Huntress gave an energetic fist pump into the air, "There we go O! Gotham represent! At least we've still got some kind of Bat in the house."

"It's been a long time since I was Batgirl H," Oracle shook her head fondly, "And I couldn't pull off the outfit anymore anyway."

Huntress looked at floor, "Yeah I know O but when you imagine the League it's always with Batman glowering over you."

"What happened to all the Bats anyway?" Stargirl asked "why did they all disappear?"

"I heard Batman went crazy and locked them all in the basement." Green Arrow said a little too nonchalantly.

Wonder Woman drew herself up and in a blink was in the front of the room, "Batman's actions are his own and we will not be divulging his rational but I can assure that the League will not tolerate any such talk about him or his group of associates." The rest of founders nodded.

Vigilante tipped his hat, "I apologize for the group ma'am." He turned to Oracle, "but if you don't mind me asking ya, pretty lady why can't ya come on in and be a Bat? Meaning no disrespect to y'all but I know I always felt safer than a horse in a hayfield when he was watching ma back."

Oracle smiled, "I appreciate the sentiment and I really wish I could but…" Oracle allowed the camera to zoom out and answer the question for her. In the hologram the wheelchair's silver shone brightly.

The muttering in the room resumed. Flash couldn't help himself, his caring nature and fast mouth made editing difficult, "Whoa Oracle, what happened?"

She didn't get a chance to answer. The room's teleporters turned on and a figure appeared on the pad. It was Batman in all of his glowering glory. Those nearest instinctively took a step back, although they'd seen him on TV Batman wasn't often seen in person.

"Uh Batman. Hi, good to see-" Superman tried before Batman cut him off.

"What happened to Oracle," his words indicated that he'd been listening in, "is the same sort of thing that happens to everyone who works with me." He stalked across the room as he said it, making his way towards the back, farthest away from the monitor bay, stopped in front of a dark shadow and looked up. "And I will not allow it to happen to you." He reached upwards, grabbed a nearly invisible piece of black fabric and yanked down. A small collection of flailing limbs hit the ground with a thump. Batman didn't give the person time to collect themselves; he simply dragged them by their cape across the room, heading towards the teleporter.

With the cape pulled back the body figure and long black hair marked the interloper as female. The suit and cape were black from head to toe. The only exceptions were the silver trim on the boots, a silver utility belt and a shiny, silver bat on the chest. "What are you doing?" The words exploded.

"Did I or did I not expressly forbid you from either putting on that suit again or from engaging in any or my activities?" Batman's question was clearly rhetorical.

"You did!" The girl spat around as mouthful of fabric as she twisted, trying to right herself, "and I listened. I made a whole new suit so I will never put that particular suit on again and Batman isn't part of the League anymore so this isn't engaging in your activities."

"Semantics kid." He growled.

She managed to get into her utility belt and throw a line around a nearby support pole, holding Batman to a standstill. The watching League wasn't sure what to do exactly. "Batgirl," she insisted, "Batgirl version 2.0. New suit, none of that crappy yellow, no offence Oracle. I have every right to be here. I'm a member of the Justice League."

Batman dropped Kayla, turned and glared at the founders, "Conference room" He grabbed her as she tried to sneak away, "You too kid."

The door had barely closed before Batman began, "You wouldn't let my daughter into the League after everything would you?"

"I did Batman." J'onn stepped forward, "I allowed Batgirl permission into the League based on the same principles that applied to everyone else. We did not, as you know, ask any other mentor to give permission for their charges to join. Batgirl was no different. We can use her skills." The other founders were torn between agreement and concern.

"I still won't risk it. Kayla," Batman spat the word out, "Congratulations, you're grounded, no League, end of story."

"Can we ground our sidekicks?" Shayara asked nobody in particular.

Flash's mouth ran away with him again, "You can when they're your daughter."

"Flash," Batman's voice was deceptively calm.

Batgirl's thoughts were racing, trying to avoid this new problem of being grounded and knowing that for Batman's daughter being grounded meant having a tracking device implanted in your skin. Kayla panicked as Batman turned to go and she shouted the first thing that came to her, "Let me stay or I'll go live with Mom and just change costumes."

The words silenced the room immediately.

"You wouldn't." Batman kept walking.

"I would." Kayla's voice didn't hesitate, "look around you, she'll let me stay."

Batman stopped but didn't turn, "You don't know that."

"Are you willing to take the chance?" Batgirl countered. He didn't answer. She continued, "I'll cut you a deal. If I can win one of these competitions, proving that I'm good enough, you let me stay. If I don't, I'll go home and never put the suit on again. If you refuse the deal I'll try my luck with Mom."

Batman's word cut the palpable silence, "Deal."

"If you tie this rope any tighter I'm not going to be able to breathe," Batgirl wheezed moments later as she hung upside down from the ceiling while Batman tied ropes around her and the others who had volunteered for the 'escape artist' skill.

Batman ignored her.

"And don't you dare cheat by making their ropes looser or easier." She continued.

He ignored her again.

"I suppose I should be thankful Mr Miracle isn't here huh?" she asked, "then I might have to resort to something like actually fighting."

He kept ignoring her and stepped back, "Go"

A few minutes later the cry was, "Gotham represent!" as Batgirl cemented her place in the Justice League Unlimited.

* * *

><p>"If you couldn't hide from me when you were five what makes you think you can now?" Waller's spoke the words without looking up, "I'd ask what Batman wants that he'd send you but I'm sure he's less than thrilled with this particular arrangement. So what does the JLU want now?"<p>

Batgirl stepped sheepishly from a shadow, "Less than thrilled is an understatement, if it wasn't for Alfred I think he might have permanently tied me to a cave stalagmite so I couldn't leave."

"So you're here to so I can tell you that he's wrong?" Waller shook her head, "sorry _Batgirl_ but it's foolhardy for you to join the League."

Batgirl crossed her arms, "I don't see it that way."

"Would you like my reasons alphabetically or chronologically?" Waller asked sarcastically, "Let's start with the fact that you, Six, were trained to kill, not injure. What happens if you react on instinct?"

"I can't stay cooped up in the Manor forever," Kayla said in exasperation, "I've got skills, I should use them to help people."

Waller finally looked up from her work and met Batgirl's shielded eyes, "Funny, didn't One always say something just like that?"

The cowl's eyepieces retracted and Kayla's eyes flashed dangerously, "Don't you dare compare me to him."

"Then don't compare, just explain." The deep growl rang through the room and both women jumped as Batman appeared in the window and then the room.

"B-b-b-batman," Kayla stuttered, "How? Why?"

He settled himself too firmly in the chair opposite Waller, as though he was never moving again, "I implanted you with trackers the second you joined the League. It makes the inevitable rescue less of a waste of my time."

Waller raised an eyebrow, "Not exactly in the parenting manual."

"But I'm here tonight," Batman continued with a small glare, "because you both need to tell me the truth about Numbers One through Five and the Kryptonians running around killing people."

He stared at them. Waller stared back. Kayla lost composure and gaped slightly.

"Kryptonian, singular," Waller said at last, "A leftover from the main project, subproject Unparallel. As you well know Batman, my interest was in creating the ultimate human from the ultimate humans. Project Art of War."

He nodded once, "Know thy enemy I assume?"

"Exactly," Waller spoke crisply, "It took me years to secure any kind of funding because I couldn't find any humans deemed 'good enough' for the project. Project Unparallel got all the money; they were attempting to create the ultimate meta." Waller's voice rang with disdain, "You were one of the first heroes to emerge. They wasted a year just trying to prove your existence, and another gathering your DNA. Imagine their surprise when the results came back human. So I got your DNA samples and a small portion of funding to find a female to perfectly complement your genetic traits. It took us longer to find the right match then it did to create Kayla. You should have seen our list, you even know some of them, world class scientists, politicians, army generals, Talia al Ghul and Selina Kyle were even on later lists. Of course once we figured it out it was obvious whom to match you…"

"Get on with it," Batman growled.

Waller smirked, "Touchy subject I see. Very well. Luckily for Unparallel Superman came onto the scene shortly after. It didn't take them near as long to get his DNA. Then again, they were stuck waiting. They tried clones of course but we wouldn't have a successful one of those for years. Kryptonian DNA isn't exactly manageable. But then you started your little League and Wonder Woman shot into the public eye. Superman's equal in power." Waller almost growled, "And raw power was all those idiots thought about."

"So we're dealing with the child of Superman and Wonder Woman." Batman did not look impressed, "or are we dealing with five?"

"They wish." Kayla had to chuckle despite the situation, "those guys had no luck, total doofuses."

Waller confirmed, "they tried over a thousand combinations before they got it right."

"The first thousand were killed." Kayla said quietly, "leaving five slots open before me was just wishful thinking. There were a couple of viable ones but the only one with any staying power was Three. That's what I came to warn you about," the words tumbled out, "He murdered Paul Westfield, remember him? He was in charge of their project. All the old execs are dying. He killed Jess and Eddie. We're the only ones left. He won't find me but you need to get out and go. You've got the same name and face for crying out loud. Even Three could find you."

"What are his capabilities?" Batman asked.

Waller crossed her arms, "I wasn't allowed interaction with the other projects."

"I was though," Kayla said, "we were supposed to become a team of sorts. Three was all power no brain. Your typical dumb henchman, he did what he was told. I know that was intentional, some of the earlier models were too smart and uncontrollable. What's the point of an unparallel weapon you can't control?"

Waller looked at her pointedly, "What indeed?" Then she looked back at Batman, "He flies, super strength, heat vision, impervious skin, super smell. No x-ray vision, no super vision, no super breath, no super speed, no super hearing, no eidetic memory and is vulnerable to Kryptonite and magic. No Wonder Woman powers that we can tell. None of them did."

"Think Doomsday without the spikes and the ability to speak. A similar moral code too." Kayla put in. "He does what he's told, the unparallel soldier they used to call him."

"And you never mentioned this before?" Batman left the words hanging.

Kayla backed up slightly, "He was supposed to be dead. I wondered after I saw Jess and Eddie but I saw him die with my own eyes. Giant magical backwash, fire, kryptonite, the works. But he's gotta be back now, Paul Westfield confirms it."

Batman stood, "You should get out. Kayla's right, he may be coming for you."

"I'll be fine." Waller waved a hand, "I think I can handle a rouge Kryptonian."

Batgirl looked ready to protest but Batman nodded, "Your call. Come on." He barked.

The two leaped out the window and grappled though the night. "How much trouble am I in?" Kayla asked eventually.

Batman did the scariest thing he could when in costume, he grinned.

"Ah shite," Kayla said, "that much?"

The grin was gone instantly, "first order of duty though. If this kid is the ultimate soldier, who's he taking commands from?"

Waller watched them go from her desk and then spun around, "Happy?"

"Looks like they bought it," a tall figure stepped forward, "Good to know where she is. One will be quite interested in retrieving her." There was a flash of red and Waller barely managed to keep from crying out in agony. She looked down, a perfectly circular hole had been seared through her upper arm, cauterizing as it went. "That's for the insults."

"We have a deal." Waller kept herself from sagging.

The boy stepped into the light. He was well muscled, had blue eyes and black hair with a small curled gelled into shape on his forehead, "It will be honoured." He leaned forward, "I haven't killed you have I?"

Waller drew herself up, "Then get out Three. I've shown you Six, I've thrown Batman off the scent and now I've got work to do. Tell One to leave me alone." Suddenly Waller found herself locked in a death grip and flying through space fifty feet in the air, "What are you doing?"

"I'm not going to kill you." Three said, "We made a deal. However you should have been a little more specific Waller and thankful. I can't guarantee that Two will be quite so accommodating."


	31. Lois Knows Best

Sometimes Alfred wondered what life was like for the average butler; the kind of butler where the job description meant nothing more than household organization, cleanliness and meal preparation. He strongly doubted that most job descriptions required comprehensive first aid, poison control, basic forensics, martial arts, psychological profiling and espionage among others. The butler made his way down the hall as he contemplated a more accurate job title, his mind unable to come up with the proper descriptive.

The first door on Alfred's left was slightly ajar and despite the late hour of the evening every light in the room blazed. Accompanying Tim's return had been a newfound fear of the dark. Alfred didn't hesitate to enter, "Master Timothy?" he called as his only warning.

Tim turned instantly from what he was doing, his shaking hands betraying his ordeal, "Alfred." The boy's natural smile hadn't yet returned but the inflection was positive, "Is that post patrol dinner I smell?"

"Indeed," Alfred passed the boy a plate, "Steak medium-rare as you like it."

Tim nodded, "Thank you." His hands shook uncontrollably as he reached forward. Tim's brow instantly furrowed, his head twitched slightly and a small chuckle escaped.

Alfred set the plate down instantly and knelt in front of Tim, "Master Timothy?" The boy's eyes were vacant. "Master Timothy," Alfred said more sharply, "focus on what you know to be true."

Tim's pupils dilated momentarily until he took a deep breath, his fists clenched against his sides. A few breathes later he looked back at Alfred, "I'm sorry."

"No need for apologies," Alfred said calmly, "what are you working on?"

Tim's room was covered in a spider's web of paper, various tidbits of information circled and connected to others. The overwhelming amount of lights cause the words to almost jump off the page, Tim wasn't taking any chances of being caught in the dark. Bruce had even installed a private back-up generator just for Tim's room.

Tim shuffled a few papers, "I'm just, trying to make sense of it all Alfred? You know? There must be some kind of connection. Everything that happened to me." The boy's eyes were almost pleading, "I can't believe that it was just random. And I can't just sit here. I know why Bruce won't let me back on patrol but…" The young voice trailed off.

Alfred put a hand on his shoulder, "I don't doubt you'll beat this young sir."

Tim almost smiled properly, "Thanks Alfred. Tell Dick to pop over whenever okay?"

With that Alfred continued on to the next door down the hall. Unlike Tim's overly illuminated room this door was tightly closed and no light shone under the door. This time Alfred gave the courtesy of a knock before opening the door, "Master Richard?"

As always Dick was sitting on his bed and staring out the window. He appeared to be fully fixated on the nearly full moon, "Alfred". His inflection was lower than Tim's.

"Steak Master Richard," Alfred said, "Rare as you like it."

"Thank you" Dick's tone was crisp, "I'll let you get to Bruce."

Alfred hesitated by the door, "Master Timothy was hoping you'd stop by his room."

Dick winced but nodded, "I'll do that." His head turned back towards the window, his body hadn't moved.

Alfred continued down the hall, knocking on the next door but not barging in as he had the others, "Miss Kayla?"

"Behind you Alfred!" came the cheerful voice, "I just got back from the Watchtower. Is that dinner?" Kayla's eyes lit up.

Alfred nodded, stepping away from her bedroom door so she could enter, "Steak, well-done." Kayla grinned. "Will you be needing me to look after any injuries from your mission?"

Kayla's face fell slightly, "Nope, the League won't let me anywhere near the action. They keep putting me on crowd control." She wiped her hand on her track pants and then snatched a potato off the plate, "You think it's because they think I'm not good enough or because they're afraid of Batman?"

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence," Alfred allowed himself the small lie.

Kayla arched an eyebrow, "Coincidence, suuuuuure." She leaned against the door frame, "I've got that gala tomorrow…"

"There's a dress clean and waiting in your closet, I've arranged transportation and found a suitable," Alfred's inflection indicated what he really thought of the word, "date for the event."

"Thanks so much Alfred," a yawn nearly split Kayla's face in half, "I guess I'll eat this and then hit the hay. How's Tim?"

"The same." Alfred replied.

"Well at least he's not worse," Kayla said, "Dad back? I didn't see him when I teleported in."

"He is," Alfred confirmed, "I believe he was in the forensics lab."

"Okey dokey," Kayla gave the butler a quick hug, "Night, sweet dreams."

Alfred didn't bother to check the fourth bedroom instead beginning the long trek through the Manor and down to the Batcave. Kayla was right; Batman wasn't to be found in his usual position in front of the monitors. Alfred wisely chose to leave the food outside before stepping into the forensics lab.

"And how are we this evening Master Bruce?" Alfred asked.

Batman didn't bother with the pleasantries, "Waller has gone missing."

Alfred raised an eyebrow, "Miss Waller is hardly the type to check in."

"But the skirmish in Seattle? She would have shown up for that." Batman adjusted the microscope, "I've been in her office, and there is evidence of burns from a highly organized cluster of electrons."

"A laser sir," Alfred added an understanding of physics to his job description.

Batman looked up from the samples, "or laser vision. Kayla's fears appear to have a basis. Her cowl has the appropriate amount of lead lining?"

Alfred almost looked offended, "Of course sir. Her identity is as safe as your own."

Bruce went back to his samples.

"On that note sir," Alfred said, "I don't suppose you'd know why Miss Kayla feels that she's constantly and intentionally being relegated to crowd control duty?"

He didn't look up, "Paranoia perhaps? I'm sure the League is placing her in the best possible position to utilize her abilities."

"Indeed," Alfred's voice was dry, "And I'm sure you, as a loving, caring and non-League membered father would never command the Justice League to keep your daughter on low risk missions only." Alfred didn't let Bruce get a word in, "Because that would have created the consequence of her doubting her own abilities and feeling the need to prove herself. Which as you and I both know often results in rash, foolish and dangerous choices. A father would never wish for his child to feel inadequate. Right Master Bruce?"

Bruce's eyes had narrowed at Alfred's words, "Of course. Children should be kept where they're the safest."

"Which," Alfred articulated, "Usually isn't where they're unexpectedly trying to prove themselves by showing off and performing dangerous, unassigned tasks." The butler turned, "Don't forget sir, you both have the charity gala tomorrow, I've taken care of the arrangements. Also sir, I've left a medium-rare steak outside the door, do try to not let it go cold."

* * *

><p>As Diana stepped into the Charity Gala she relished the unusual experience: she was at an event where she wasn't being constantly accosted by paparazzi. There was an excellent reason for this, tonight she wasn't Wonder Woman and she herself was part of the paparazzi.<p>

She adjusted her dress, pushed her borrowed glasses back up her nose spoke into the cell phone pressed against her ear, "Lois, this isn't going to work."

"Diana, you're a darling and all but you've got to trust me here," Lois' voice was confident, "I know men. The island of women thing puts you at a slight disadvantage in this category."

Diana shook her head, "This just seems so," she paused for the right word, "underhand."

Lois laughed, "It's really not. He's going to catch on right away and it's _still_ going to drive him insane. That's what so great about it."

"Lois," Diana fiddled with her glasses, "he's not going to care."

"Oh Diana," Lois' voice was almost pitying, "Trust me. I hear Clark's stories, I pay attention, I know you and I've dated Bruce. Trust me, he's going to care. You have nothing to worry about."

"But Lois" Diana started.

Lois shushed, "No if ands or buts Diana, stick to my brilliant plan. This will work. Now look after my bumbling boyfriend of a superhero, tell him if he bungles this I'm not going to forgive him." The phone clicked off.

Diana handed Clark back his cell phone, "Lois is something else."

Clark smiled fondly, "That's why I'm going to propose." His face grew more serious, "Now come on, let's put this Press Pass to good use before Mr Wayne arrives." He offered her his arm.

The roar of the press stuck outside alerted them to the Waynes' arrival but it was another fifteen minutes before Bruce made it through the front door. Diana intentionally kept her back to Batman's watchful eye giving him time to make his rounds before approaching him. The two Daily Planet Reporters moved throughout the room, gathering quotes and performing interviews. Diana was thoroughly enjoying the experience of anonymity that a pair of glasses and a new hairdo could provide.

They found Kayla first or rather, she found them, "Clark Kent right?" She grabbed his arm as she said it and turned them, "You can ask me any question as long as you stay right there so my date can't find me."

"Um, of course Miss Wayne," Clark played his reporter role, "anything for an interview."

Kayla played hers and breathed out heavily as though she was exhausted, "Thanks, I need to start doing like cardio or something. Maybe pilates, or yoga or that thing with stretching. That guy is like all hands you know? Like let's keep that at the bar buddy. Besides, this dress is totally not for touching, I mean its one-of-a-kind made just for me."

Clark gave his nervous reporting smile, "So would you like to tell me about this year's event Miss Wayne?"

Kayla's hands flapped in the air as she spoke, "Well it's for the less fortunate people, you know, like orphans in Gotham. The ones who got hit by the Arkham crazies? We're trying to get them a decent place to sleep with like actual bathrooms and good food." Suddenly for no reason Clark reached around, put his hand in Diana's and left it there. She started slightly but a touch of his super strength prevented her from moving without using her own and attracting too much attention.

Kayla shot Clark a quick confused glance and interrupted her own spiel, "How's Lois?"

"She's fine." Clark said absently and put his arm around Diana's waist, "So Miss Wayne, tell me about your favourite charity recipient."

It took Kayla almost ten minutes to catch on. When it finally clicked, her jaw dropped, "Holy crap on a cracker," she whistled, "_Diana?_"

Diana started to say something but Kayla cut her off, "Nope, no, naw, nope. I can't believe I was fooled by those glasses…" she trailed off as a grin began to fill her face, "You keep doing exactly what you're doing and don't move. Mr. Kent," Kayla flipped backed into her Wayne voice, "I believe you should speak to Daddykins right now." Then she scuttled off.

"She may be onto us," Clark whispered to Diana.

Diana took a step back, "What," she enunciated, "are you doing?"

"Change of plans," Clark hissed, "just play along. Bruce is coming." Diana didn't have time to protest before Clark once again pulled her close and turned them towards the oncoming Waynes.

Both Waynes had their playboy smiles on, "Come on Daddykins," Kayla whined, "I promised Mr. Kent that you would give him a quote! And you've like got to meet his new partner, she's absolutely wonderful!" Kayla allowed herself to get distracted, "OOOOOOOOO giant shrimp!" Then she scampered off.

"Mr. Kent," Bruce offered his hand, "it's a pleasure to see you again."

* * *

><p>"Alright Smallville," Lois spoke softly, "you better not mess this up. You flubbed the Kayla trial round so let's convince Brucie boy." She raised the binoculars again and brushed a tree branch out of her face, "fight that farm boy nature and get your sexy on."<p>

It took thirty seconds for Lois to hit the point of exasperation, "Listen up Kent. My foolproof plan isn't going to work if you keep messing it up. Touch the back of your head if you can hear me."

Lois watched through the window as Clark absently scratched the back of his head, "Perfect. I'm in charge now. You do exactly what I tell you, no ifs ands or buts. First get him looking at Diana's face instead of her chest. We need him to recognize her. Put an arm around her waist, lean in and whisper in her ear." Lois grinned slightly, "Preferably something that's going to make our perfect Princess blush. She's an Amazon so try something that's as awkward as when a woman tells a man about her period."

Clark gave it a go. Lois had no idea what he said but Bruce's head snapped to attention and Diana went a flattering shade of pink so she gave the boyscout a point. However when Clark went to move back Lois had to hiss, "Don't let go of her waist you idiot."

She smiled as Bruce took the bait, the small furrow in his brow the only indication he knew it was Diana. He leaned forward, took her hand in his own and kissed it with a bow, obviously introducing himself. Lois rolled her eyes, "See Kent, that's how you woo a lady. Hand kisses, not spilling coffee on her the first time you meet." She forced herself to refocus, "ok. He knows it's Diana. Now he's trying to figure out why she's here and what your game is. Good luck to him. He'll be confused because there's no way you would come up with something this epic and sneaky," she paused, "no offence sweetie."

Lois readjusted her position on the tree limb, pushed a thoroughly annoying branch out of her way and continued, "Now we need to amp it up. Diana's confused now but she won't tolerate this for long. We need Bruce to take her off your hands before she slaps you." Lois reconsidered, "actually we can make her slapping you work in our favour to. That I'd like to see, 'Wonder Woman slaps Superman for getting fresh'. See Smallville, I can do your old school vibe. Get fresh!"

Clark didn't do anything.

Lois actually growled, "Get fresh now. I want to see that hand slip down from her waist into a butt grab. You have no excuses, I'm giving you permission and everyone knows that Wonder Woman has a great ass. Remember, you're doing this for your friends. You're Superman, you will not be denied."

She cackled when he finally did so. The reactions were priceless. Lois had to give Kent credit, he was pulling it off. Diana looked completely flabbergasted while Bruce was visibly uncomfortable with the action. It spoke bounds if Batman looked visibly like anything. A quick swivel of the binoculars showed Kayla giggling uncontrollably from where she hiding behind a fountain.

"Almost a home run farm boy! Let's reel him in." When Lois got excited sports analogies took over, "You need to take one more hit for the team; this might be a literal hit. But we'll stick you in the sun and you'll be fine. I need a kiss from you right on Diana's cheek."

Clark pretended to stretch, their pre-determined signal that he was uncomfortable with the request.

Lois was unperturbed, "Don't you dare back out on me now Smallville. Come on, you can do this. A nice gentlemanly kiss on the cheek." Lois lifted a rock from her pocket and rolled it about in her free hand, "Do it for me? For my genius plan? For your sweet and loving genius reporter girlfriend?" Although her view was of the back of Clark's head she could tell from his posture that he'd resigned himself to do as she requested.

"Alright farm boy, on my mark." Lois checked her aim and hefted the rock slightly, "On three. One." Clark clearly said something to Diana, "Two," Lois took aim, "Three," Clark went for it and Lois let the rock fly. It clattered against the window, not breaking it but making a rattle. Exactly as she'd expected Diana's head had flown towards the window to see what the sound was; Clark's kiss landed right on her lips.

Lois almost died of laughter, not caring that Superman could hear her. Clark and Diana's surprise was almost equal. She had to credit the Amazon for not slapping Kent across the face. Bruce's face was the priceless one. Lois had never seen Bruce Wayne so stunned; his jaw had even dropped a little. Then that steely resolve dropped across his face and he predictably whisked Diana away from Clark. Lois liked to think that at least some small part of that was for her sake.

* * *

><p>Diana wasn't sure what had just happened. If she wasn't mistaken then Clark Kent had just kissed her. She couldn't help the grimace that stretch across her face, it had been like kissing a brother.<p>

"I hope that expression wasn't meant for me," the male voice drew her back to reality.

She quickly schooled her features, "Of course not Mr. Wayne," she removed her hand from his arm, "I must apologize for the impropriety of my friend."

Bruce smiled at her, "I'm sure he just couldn't resist the allure of a beautiful woman." Diana blushed and Bruce continued, "So what brings you to my little gathering? Searching for the next big scoop?" He placed her hand back on his arm and began to lead her to the edge of the gathering.

"I'm just filling in for Miss Lane…" Diana began.

Bruce cut her off the second they were out of earshot and onto the balcony, "Why are you really here Diana? And what was wrong with Kent?"

Diana narrowed her eyes, "Believe me, Kent will be getting a less than civil conversation when there are less people around to observe it." Despite the blush that wanted to erupt Diana kept her ire up for her next words, "We came here to support you Bruce. Clark and I are aware that we are expressly ignoring your wishes but we refuse to let you sequester yourself away in Gotham with no friends. Thus the outfit," Diana gestured to her 'reporter wear', "If we can't be friends with _him_ then we will be friends with you." Bruce opened his mouth but Diana didn't let him start, "I am _not_ done yet Bruce Wayne. You will hear me out. I have been at this party for an hour now, I have spoken to most of Gotham's rich and famous, I have literally stood in the middle of a group of reporters whom have the job of watching me and I fooled your daughter for over ten minutes until Clark gave me away. So my question is this: Can you really object to my presence based on appearance? You have enough associates whom you interact with where nothing like what happened occurred." She paused to allow an answer.

He looked at her sullenly, "No."

"Then," Diana jumped back in, "your only objection would be to me." She smiled at him sweetly, "You're not going to reject one of the only people willing to put with all of you, are you Bruce?" Diana's look could have pierced Kevlar.

"No…"

She continued, "Then Bruce, I will apologize for this underhand method of getting you to agree. If I'd thought that you'd listen to reason I would have just approached you and asked for your assistance in the creation of an outfit."

Bruce finally cut in, "Was Kent molesting you part of the plan?" His voice was dry.

Diana finally blushed, "I have no idea what he was doing."

Bruce had the audacity to smirk, "I thought as much." His voice turned thoughtful, "And Kent doesn't have the guts or brains to pull that off on its own."

"I don't know why he was doing that," Diana let her exasperation seep into her voice, "Our plan to meet you was fine on its own."

Bruce looked at her in slight disbelief, "Your big plan was to just talk to me as a reporter?"

Diana was forced to put a chokehold on her anger at his obvious disdain for her plan when they were unexpected joined by a third party.

"Bruce," Lex Luthor said smoothly, "I was looking for you old friend. I was hoping that we could talk about your support for the final leg of the campaign. The election is just around the corner you know."

"Is it?" The ease with which Bruce switched tones still amazed Diana, "Ah Lex, you know I don't keep track of that political stuff. Too much do!" Bruce winked, "if you get my drift."

Lex clearly forced a smile, "Unfortunately we don't all have your bountiful free time. Although perhaps for you," Lex turned to Diana, "I'd make an exception." He held out his hand, "I'm sorry, I don't believe I caught a name Miss…"

Diana froze. She hadn't thought of a last name

"That's because I was trying to avoid sharing," Bruce saved her, "Lex Luthor meet Miss Prince."

Lex gave a little bow, "Charmed, I don't suppose I could steal you away Miss Prince?"

Diana gave a little laugh, "I may have to take you up on that Mr. Luthor." Bruce's hand tightened on her waist, "But not today, today the big news is Mr. Wayne's event. I doubt the Daily Planet would be pleased if I strayed from my assignment."

"Ah," Lex nodded, "A reporter, I should have known. You don't quite have the outfit or air of the guests." Lex passed her a business card, "I won't steal Wayne's spotlight today but with the election coming up make sure the Planet knows they can get all the press they need by following my campaign." A dark haired man in a suit with dark shades came up and whispered something in his ear. Lex nodded, "If you'd excuse me, Miss Prince." He shook her hand again, then Bruce's, "Bruce we will speak later."

"Always a pleasure," Bruce called after him, "I suppose, Miss Prince, that I should return you to your partner."

"Prince?" She hissed at him on the walk through the crowd, "Subtle."

Bruce Wayne was allowed to be as cocky as Batman, "You're welcome. You froze. I was just helping out."

She rolled her eyes and removed her hand from his arm, "I think I can find my way on my own Mr Wayne."

"Since it's about three feet, I should hope so." Bruce said dryly. He approached Clark, who appeared to be in a heated conversation with Lois. With no regard for the conversation he butted in and shook Lois' hand, "Well played Miss Lane, well played." He brushed against Clark and then sauntered off, greeting guests as he went.

* * *

><p>When Clark was sure that both woman were off doing who knows what he reached into pocket and pulled out the paper Bruce had placed there.<p>

"I retract my command to keep Kayla off duty. Let her do actual work, she can handle it. But Kent, keep an eye on her for me."

Then there was an extra sentence scrawled across the bottom, "I don't care what Lois tells you to do, if you do that again I will put Kryptonite in your shampoo."

Clark chuckled, "Nice to know you do care about us Bruce."

* * *

><p><strong>Hi... Sorry about the delay... I have no excuse... But know I do feel guilty.<strong>

**All thanks to Skillgammon the damned for motivating me to keep writing.**

**If you're still reading after my impromptue hiatus I just want to say thanks and i hope that you'll keep reading and reviewing. I'll try harder for timely updates.**


	32. Batgirl Gone Wild

Barbara's the only one I let roam about the island. The others are in their cages, their chains. She knows how to live with cages; it didn't seem fair to put her in more. The very first thing I did when they delivered her here was to install pathways for her wheelchair; it works just like a train. She can't leave the tracks.

Sometimes I catch her trying to free the others. She throws herself from her chair and tries crawling through the sand with her arms towards the controls. I admire her determination. Her refusal to surrender. She knows that I'll never let her make it. I know that she'll never stop trying. It's a silent balance we've worked out. She knows I need someone to talk at. I know that she hopes I'll tell her a secret. We both know I'm a traitor.

She never tries to free him though. Barbara knows that he'll destroy himself. He might destroy me first, but he will destroy himself. She loves him too much to let him. Sometimes I don't know if I do. Sometimes I just want release him, screw the consequences. Let him destroy himself if he destroys me first. Then I remember what's important; I trudge onward.

I spend most of my time in the remains of the library. The Amazon's library is famed for its ancient texts. I read them all. All that are left. All I could save from the flames. All that my brother didn't burn. Maybe I'm looking for answers, maybe I'm looking for escape, maybe I just want to read. Sometimes I talk at Barbara. She never responds. I can't blame her for that; I once played her like a fool. But she always listens.

She's hoping I'll tell her something important. She knows I'm too clever for a slip-up, too well trained. But she always listens. That's the problem with heroes. They have too much hope. That's why I was never a hero. I may have put on the mask, but the real face shines through. Barbara understands this, like me she's spent too much time in chains. Chains of fate's design. She still listens. She hopes that the me she thought I was is still in there. That's I'll intentionally let something slip. That I'll say something she can use to defeat them. I know that I won't.

Won't I?

* * *

><p>"Dick!" Tim's excited voice rang through the manor, "Come play Chinese checkers with Barbara and I!"<p>

Dick winced almost imperceptivity but one look at Tim's hopeful face determined his answer, "Sure, I can play a game." He sat down on the couch beside Tim, Barbara opposite him.

"It's nice to see you out and about boys," Barbara said cautiously, "I was beginning to think you'd both permanently become part of your room's décor."

"Alfred stopped bringing us food," Tim said absently as he moved his first piece, "He said we needed to breathe fresh air." The boy grinned, "I'll admit it was getting a little stuffy in there."

"I like it in there," Dick grumbled.

Barbara shot him a look that clearly said, 'don't bring Tim down'. Moving her own piece she asked, "How's it going in there?"

Tim shrugged, "Better than Kayla's. From the cursing I here she's all dead ends. And Dick isn't even doing anything so unless Bruce is making epic bounds on whatever he's working on I'd say, relatively speaking, I'm doing pretty well."

A head poked through the doorway, "Coffee?" The disheveled head croaked.

"Fresh in dining room," Barbara responded. Five moves later the head returned, Kayla plopped onto a nearby chair and clutched a mug to her chest.

"Well," Tim regarded her, "You look like death." An apparent side effect of Diana's lasso was Tim's new propensity for citing any truth he came across.

Kayla shrugged and ran a hand through her matted hair, "I haven't been getting much sleep."

"Working too hard," Barbara said sympathetically.

Kayla shrugged around coffee, "Something like that."

Silence hung in the air during the next few moves of the game. Tim broke it with a question more awkward than the silence itself, "What's Bruce up to bat-wise these days?"

Barbara and Kayla shared an awkward glance until Kayla said, "Bane's been making trouble."

Thankfully Tim didn't press for details, however Dick did, and "Define trouble." His voice was suddenly strangely insistent.

Barbara shot him a look. Dick gave one right back. Barbara finally caved, "He's been rounding up kids."

The question came to an abrupt halt with the beeping of a Justice League signal device. Both girls looked at their belts. Kayla sighed and got up slowly, "That's me." She yawned and stretched, downing her coffee.

Tim looked at her, concerned, "Maybe you should sit this one out K. You look like you're about to fall over."

Kayla patted him on the head as she walked out, "I'm sure it's just routine BirdBoy. I'll be fine."

* * *

><p>It was most definitely not routine and Diana felt anxious. Wonder Woman watched the scramble of activity around the teleporter as the called upon Leaguers were checking in for duty. She wondered how much they should tell them. Certainly she wanted to tell them everything, to keep them on their toes, but she didn't want to frighten them either.<p>

The chaotic mass villain attack was back after months of no activity. The first time Shayara was shot at. Then John was almost crushed. J'onn was still recovering from his ordeal with the fire. Diana looked over the recruits gathered in front of her and prayed one of them wouldn't be next. She tried to remind himself that that they were all capable and all volunteers. It didn't really help. She looked at Superman, he looked equally conflicted but she gestured for him to start the briefing.

He did so.

They would all be fine.

Wouldn't they?

The three teams landed in the middle of what one could be forgiven for mistaking as a war zone. Superman had one squad, Diana another and John the last. Diana went straight for Cheetah, she always felt responsible for the acts of one of 'her' villains.

The actions themselves were simple, routine even. Block, dodge, attack, jump. The same movements repeated over and over with only the order changing. Cheetah struck out with her claws and Wonder Woman moved her bracer. Diana's head wasn't in this fight, she was too busy checking everything else.

Without Batman around to be watching everything they all had to be more vigilant. Diana couldn't even fathom what the bad guy's plan was this time. Another sticking bomb? A new target? Mayhem? Even before he left Bruce hadn't been able to establish a pattern.

"On your left" She shouted before throwing Cheetah through the air to collide with Metallo, who had been charging Black Canary from the side as she fought off Polaris.

"Thanks" Canary called as she roundhoused Polaris in the face and taunted, "Not wearing any metal chump, better try a new plan."

Wonder Woman shook her head with a small smile and kept moving, Volcana was melting Vigilante's motorcycle. She could hear the cowboy from here, "What in tarnation are you doing woman? That is a gen-u-ine beautiful piece of equipment and you are melting it! Dang-gone no good crazy lady. Aim at me for Pete's sake."

With Diana's help the bike made it out only slightly melted. Vigilante tipped his hat, "Much obliged ma'am." Then he took off, shouting as he went. Rampage caught Diana's eye. The super strong woman appeared to be tearing through their ranks. Diana guessed that her strength about equalled the villainess and with Superman nowhere in sight it was their best chance.

Twenty minutes later Diana's arm felt like rubber but her opponent sat tied up in front of her. Wonder Woman immediately did a head count. Black Canary, Vigilante, Blue Devil, Vixen and Red Tornado. All present and accounted for, injuries yes but alive. Diana breathed a sigh of relief, they were fine. Still something pulled in her gut, she didn't know what it was but something was very wrong. Wonder Woman could see the green glow a few blocks over, indicating that Lantern's squad at least was still fighting.

"Tornado, Vigilante," she ordered, "load them up. Everyone else with me, we're going to back up Gamma Squad."

It turned out that Gamma didn't need back-up, the glow was from where John's ring was containing the enemy, not fighting them.

"Everyone okay?" Diana asked as she landed.

John nodded, "More or less. Supergirl got hit with a powerful spell. She wasn't looking good so I sent her back to the Watchtower. Otherwise, it's just the usual scrapes and bruises."

"Speak for yourself," Green Arrow fingered his beard, the ends of which were charred black, "Do you know how long I've been perfecting this beard?"

Diana ignored him, "Have you heard from Alpha?"

"Nothing," John frowned, "Usually Superman checks in first."

"Gorgon's spit," Diana swore, "This is what we were afraid of. At least we know Metallo wasn't down there. "

John gestured at her to go, "I'll stay to hold these guys, everyone else, check on Alpha. They're downtown." They took off.

The first sound to hit their ears was the roar of a crowd, not entirely unusual in the downtown areas where crowd control was a nightmare. However the crowd wasn't voicing screams of panic but what seemed to be shouts of outrage.

"Hold the crowd," Wonder Woman said to the heroes who had come with her.

The scene wasn't exactly what Diana had feared, it was worse. The first thing she saw was Superman lying flat on his back with Fire leaning over him, glowing hot. Her stomach dropped, Fire was performin an emergency procedure that they'd only briefly discussed. They had never actually imagined that Superman would be in such poor shape that he would need artificial sunlight on the field of battle.

Wonder Woman dropped to her knees beside him, having developed sudden tunnel vision, "Kal," she reached out and touched his shoulder. Diana ignored the fact that Fire's fake sun was probably giving her a sunburn, "Kal, what happened?" There was no answer. Only Superman's shallow breathing indicated that he was even still alive. Diana looked him over, he appeared fine.

Superman couldn't speak and Diana didn't want to interrupt Fire's concentration. Blue Beetle and Ice were trying to contain the few villains that hadn't gotten away. She sped over to where Plastic Man, Elongated Man and Booster Gold were attempting crowd control. The crowd was quickly becoming a mob and her presence seemed only to make it worse.

"What happened Ralph?" Diana asked.

Before Elongated Man could answer a particularly loud man at the front of the crowd spoke up, "I'll tell you what happened lady." He shouted, "One of your heroes went crazy and tried to kill us. Plucked some random guy right out of the street and started beating on him. The poor guy didn't stand a chance. I knew it was only a matter of time until you supers starting kill whomever you pleased." His words invigorated the crowd and they rallied, pushing against the out-stretched arms holding them back.

Diana blanched slightly; sure the man was over exaggerating. Ralph's face changed her mind. His face hard, straining against the push of the crowd all he could spit out were the words, "Batgirl, down street, reinforcement three minutes."

Diana looked at Kal once and then took off down the street. Her mind was racing, Batgirl had to have a good reason. Batgirl wouldn't have killed someone.

Her first sight was blood. Her second of a sword dragging on the ground. Her third of Batgirl's limp body being carried between Huntress and Zatana heading away from the crowds. Part of Batgirl's mask was torn right off. Diana's heart skipped a beat in the bad way, both for the girl and for Bruce. The faces of the two women were grim.

"We need to get her out of here," Zatana called out, "that crowd is going to tear her apart if they see her again."

Diana relieved them of their burden by taking the young girl in her strong arms regardless of the blood. She was relieved to hear a rasped breath come from the girl's mouth.

"What happened?" Diana snapped.

Huntress raised her hands over her head, "I have no idea. She just went bat-shit crazy, jumped some guy in the crowd, pulled out a sword and started wailing on him."

"Superman was hit by Kryptonite," Zatana added quickly, "it must have been a lot."

Diana started to hover, "Where's this guy from the crowd?"

Zatana shook her head, "That's what weird, he just ran off like he was fine. But he couldn't have been fine," she pointed to Batgirl, "most of it's his blood."

"How long has Batgirl been unconscious?" Diana asked.

"Don't worry about that," Huntress said, "It's not from a blow to the head. Zee and I went after her when they took off down the street. We couldn't get her to stop so I hit her up with a sleeping dart." She grinned wryly, "she's going to be pretty mad when she wakes up."

Zatana looked more thoughtful, "Somehow she was resistant to my magic. Not magic-proof but resistant. The spells just sort of slid off her."

"This is Watchtower," J'onn's voice came through, "we're finally clear for transport."

"Superman, Fire, Batgirl and myself first J'onn," Diana said, "John can do clean-up. Get two rooms ready in the infirmary." Then Diana frowned, "And get Batman there."

* * *

><p>Superman put a hand to his aching head. Diana and J'onn were next to him looking overly anxious. He managed a small smile, "I'm fine guys, just need a little rest."<p>

"Superman," J'onn asked him, "What do you remember?"

He frowned and tried to focus, "Um not much. One minute I was dealing with Atomic Skull and the next I was on my back." His eyes finally focused on his friends and his eyes narrowed, "Why? What happened?"

They didn't say anything. Diana just turned the tv on. A pretty reporter appeared on the screen, "there has been no explanation for the apparent attack by the Justice League on the unknown civilian. We have exclusive footage, however we warn viewers of the explicit material of the video."

The shot cut to the downtown where a reporter was clearly filming from roughly the fourth story of an apartment building. Superman was front and center, dealing with Atomic Skull. His analysis was accurate. As they watched the screen Superman wobbled and fell backwards, a large cloud of dust poofing around him. Atomic Skull went for another blow but one of Blue Beetle's sonics hit him first and Atomic Skull went flying…

"Superman," Blue Beetle shrieked, "Guys Superman is down." He bent over the Man of Steel and poked him, "Superman, Superman? Guys I've got nothing."

Zatanna was the only one nearby, "Is he breathing?" She yelled, then, "deit ni liat" as Copperhead jumped towards her. The man's tail wrapped around himself, tripping him up.

"Ummmmm," Beetle checked, "yes. No blood either."

Zatanna looked around, "It's got to be Kryptonite. Guys we need to find it and get it out of here." She ducked as Ice and one of Toyman's creations went flying over her head, "And it needs to be soon."

"Little busy Zee," Huntress went racing by, "trying not to die here." She turned and shot a few crossbow bolts in Merlyn's direction. The archer evaded them easily and returned the favour.

There was a crashing noise and then Batgirl's voice came through, "It's got to be relatively near him or it wouldn't work. There's no way they could afford a big chunk." Then a grunt, "Yeah okay buddy, like I'm going to stay still." Another grunt, "try moving him away, see if it gets better."

Zatanna felt like hitting herself, it was the obvious move, "Beetle," she cried.

"Already on it," he shouted, "keep them over here guys." He picked up Superman and flew them off. They landed a few blocks away where a crowd had gathered, watching the spectacle from a safe distance. Beetle waited a few minutes, "Guys, he's not coming to." He didn't wait for a response, "Watchtower, Superman needs an immediate evac."

Static was his only response.

Suddenly Fire was beside him, "Long range communicators are offline. Back off and let me try something," she ordered. She started glowing vibrantly.

He found himself confronted with KGBeast, Killer Frost, Parasite and Dr. Cyber, "uh guys, I could use a little help here."

Booster got there first, Plastic Man and Elongated Man hot on his heels. Together the four managed to hold off the assault on Superman and Fire. But not by much, their backs were starting to burn due to the proximity to fire's flame. Projectiles flew past their heads, hitting their targets with non-lethal accuracy. The crowd cheered.

"Use it or lose it boys. The girls have arrived," Huntress shouted as she blew past them and into the fray; Batgirl threw another batarang and followed. A few minutes and they were clearly winning. Their only challenge was to keep the crowd out of danger.

Cutting off Dr. Cyber's escape route Batgirl shifted herself in front of the crowd. Suddenly she changed course, without stopping she leapt into the crowd and onto a twenty-something year old male. The crowd parted with shouts of alarm which quickly became shouts of horror as Batgirl started wailing on the helpless man. There was an alarming crack as his nose broke under her fist. The crowd began to stir, some even going as far as to try and pull the young hero off him. She pushed them back with too much aggression, causing a cascade of falling bodies.

Batgirl grabbed the man and pulled him back from the crowd and into the open, screaming words that were lost in the din of the crowd. Then she reached over her shoulder, under her cape and pulled out a small sword. The crowd went crazy, rushing the pair. The man had the good sense to run and took off down the street, Batgirl followed stepping out of the camera's frame. The crowd stopped only by Elongated Man's body. Huntress took off after Batgirl with Zatanna soon following.

The report cut back to the news anchor, "Crowds are in an uprage over what appears to be Batgirls attempt at manslaughter today. Has the Justice League turned on us as predicted? Who was that man? Where is Batgirl now? What happened to Batman? And what will the government do? We now go to an exclusive interview with presidential candidate Lex Luthor about his insightful thoughts on the matter.

Diana turned the tv off.

Clark stared, "What was that? Has she said anything?"

"She's under sedation," J'onn said, "It was the only way Huntress could find to control her."

"She's not under sedation anymore." The gruff voice preceded Batman into the room, "Huntress gave her the standard dose, it will have worn off her by now."

J'onn looked at him oddly, "The standard dose should render a human of her size unconscious for another 45 minutes."

"She's resistant." Batman said.

J'onn removed Superman's monitor, "What aren't you telling us Batman? Who was that man?"

He ignored the questions, "I've got to deal with this. Since you clearly have nothing insightful to offer about the situation I'll be on my way to pick up the pieces." He paused then said, "Kent, I trusted you." The weight of his unsaid accusation hung in the air.

"Batman," J'onn called after him, "we'd like to speak to Batgirl and get an account for her actions."

Batman didn't turn but his voice echoes down the hall, "I'm sure you would."

As he passed the common room in the Watchtower on his way to the teleporter Batman came to a stop, backtracked and strode into the room. Thankfully the room was mostly empty, "Huntress, Zatanna," he snapped. The women looked up, almost afraid. He paused, "Good work."

Then he turned and strode out. There was a large pause as everyone tried to figure out what had just happened then Huntress called, "Hey us Gotham kids gotta stick together."

* * *

><p><strong>So here's what happened. I started editing my novelrewriting and consequently forgot I was doing these stories. But I've put the novel back on pause because I made a commitment here. I'll get this done. Next chapter we're going to be hearing Batgirl's account of what happened (although I'm sure you all have your own ideas) and it will be a little more 'dramatic' so rather than tack it onto the end of this one I thought I'd give you guys a chapter to remember the story. **

**So thanks for reading and sorry for the lateness**


	33. Batgirl Gone

"Alfred," Bruce opened a frequency to the manor as he strode down the Watchtower hallway, checking rooms as he went.

The butler answered almost immediately, "Yes sir."

"Kayla there?" Batman asked gruffly.

There was a pause, "I don't believe so sir. Are you meaning to say you lost her?"

Bruce didn't answer, "Seal off the Batcave. Don't go down there and don't let anyone out. Set it to allow incoming teleports only. Assume it's full of hostiles that are armed and dangerous. I don't care what or who you hear."

It was only Alfred's faith in Bruce that kept him from questioning the near order, "Of course sir, I'll see to immediately."

Batman cut the connection as he ran a critical eye over another room, not for the first time did he mentally curse genetic inheritance. More than that, he cursed Waller's love of playing with it.

The curse words rebounded in his brain at the voice behind him, just what he didn't need.

"Batman," Diana called. He grit his teeth.

He let his annoyance seep through, "What."

Wonder Woman didn't react, "What is going on?"

"Family matter, none of your business." He thought that might get her to back off.

It didn't. "It's League business _Batman_," she put the emphasis on his name, "Batgirl's actions reflect the actions of the League and in all honesty they look fairly incriminating. We need explanations Batman. We need to know what happened. We need to know why she attacked that man so that we can take the appropriate actions."

He maintained the rational Batman face, "Assume that Batgirl has effectively resigned from the League pre-emptive to your firing of her. Inform the press of this fact and that the League does not condone her actions and are investigating. That should help your credibility. Get Supergirl and Flash to join you on immediate damage control. If the three of you show up together it should cover all demographics." He kept walking.

"That doesn't answer my question Batman," she kept pace with him, "We need to know what happened?"

"No," he said, "You really don't."

"Yes," she pressed, "We do." Diana paused, "If the roles were reversed you wouldn't stop until I'd told you everything I knew."

"Diana," he growled, "You don't need to know. There's not going to be a League review or a disciplinary hearing, no case file on the matter. Batgirl resigns; it's not your problem. She's probably taken off already. Let me think."

She grabbed his arm, an almost unforgivable act of familiarity, "I don't care about the League review Br-Batman." She almost slipped, "I care about a clearly injured girl and all of the mysteries you've got swirling around with the bats in that cave. I've told you once and I'll tell you again until it gets through that thick cowl of yours, I just want to help. Something is clearly wrong and for this to happen so soon after Tim…"

Although she couldn't see them Diana knew that the cowled eyes had finally met hers.

"What happened?" she said softly.

Batman bent to the ground and dabbed his finger in an almost imperceptible spot on the floor, his glove came up with a small blood stain. He frowned. Finally Batman looked at her then set his jaw as though he didn't like the words, "I'm not sure."

Diana had to forcibly hold her jaw in place, "I beg your pardon."

"I have a theory," Batman started walking again, this time towards the teleporter, "but I don't spread theories. I spread facts."

Diana crossed her arms and leaned back where she was still standing, "I expect a phone call when you've got them."

"Don't count on it."

* * *

><p>Batman teleported into the BatCave, still miffed that Kayla had managed to sneak by Mr Terrific and into the teleporter, while bleeding, with a torn up costume, with an empty belt and with cracked ribs.<p>

He took one step into the Cave and knew that she was here. He would grant that she'd done a good job – no blood marks on the floor, everything in its place, even the desk chair on the same angle that he'd left it. The give-a-way was the bats; it took a subtle eye to notice but they were riled. Someone had been down here recently. In fact, someone was still down here, in the rafters, along the back wall. The bats weren't just aesthetic.

He ignored her. Batman strode across the Cave, sat in front of the computer and began reviewing the case files on Bane. He sat stone still absorbing the information in front of him, mentally preparing for the coming night's battle. He continued to ignore the girl crouched among the bats.

Batman could hear her moving, it took almost twenty minutes for her to reach her decision, to create a plan. He knew what she'd do but he was hoping that she wouldn't. She did.

Batgirl leapt from the rafters directly onto the emergency teleport button. She perched on the dash for a moment like a frog, wondering why she hadn't dematerialized. Batman didn't give her time, he shoved her off the console, "No feet." He growled. Then he resumed ignoring her.

Sprawled out on the ground she looked up at him, flabbergasted, "I beg your pardon."

"No feet on the equipment," he said without turning his head.

She sat up, "That's it." She almost sounded angry, "that's all you have to say?"

Batman kept his eyes on the screen in front of him, "Clearly you had something else in mind."

Batgirl pushed herself to her feet and her cowl back simultaneously, "I'm feeling fairly open ended. Take your pick. You could try what happened Batgirl? Are you okay? What were you thinking? Do you know how this reflects on me? I warned you about the sword. Who was that guy? Why would you do that? Put a bandage on that. Take that Bat off right now. The League hates you. I hate you. What the HELL do you think you're doing? Get out you worthless piece of genetic goo!" Kayla's voice had risen as she posed Batman's hypothetical questions.

Bruce finally turned from the monitors but his face remained impassive, "So answer my questions."

"What?" She paused.

"Suppose I had said that." Batman stared, "what would you say?"

She stared back at him and then jumped right into it. "What happened? Freaking Three happened. Am I okay? No, no I am not. I've never been okay. I tricked myself into thinking I was but let's be honest I'm not okay. What was I thinking? I wasn't freaking thinking okay? I just followed my training and honestly I'd do it again. Yes I know how this reflects on you, awfully." Her eyes glowed, "I tried to break rule number two, thou shalt not kill." She returned to the hypothetical questions, "Yes I used the sword. I always carry the sword. I feel incomplete without it, what does that say about me? Who was that guy? Three. We established that. Why would I do it? Because I'm programmed to. Because he will kill me. Because he will kill you. Because he's evil. Because I'm too young to be dealing with this. Because I should be dead."

Batman finally took his cowl off. Kayla continued, working herself into a frenzy, "I'll put a bandage on it when I've got time to think about something other than fighting impulses. I can't take the Bat off. The League should hate me, I messed up a lot for them. You should hate me. You never should have let me in. I never should have come here. What do I think I'm doing. I don't know. I have no idea. I'm trying to kill as few people as possible. I'm reacting to a puzzle I can't even see. Worthless piece of genetic goo sounds about right. Get out? I'm trying to but you've locked me in this blasted cave. Let me go!" Batgirl's cowl bounced off Batman's chest.

"No." Batman picked up the cowl and placed it on the console beside his own.

"No what!" Batgirl's control was gone.

Batman stared at her, "No, I'm not letting you leave this cave."

"I'm dangerous." The words seemed to surprise Kayla despite coming from her mouth.

"Not to me," Batman threw in a calculated smirk, it came off perfectly audacious.

Kayla's anger grew a touch of Batman, "I was _made_ to kill you." She growled, "I'm your contingency plan, everything about me from my face to my training was made to keep you in check. Super powered heroes got mini-supermen to deal with. You got me. They made a mini you as best they could, added everything they thought would make you go easy on me and trained me up so I wouldn't mind killing and that I'd know how. How to build a psychopath 101. Yes, I'm dangerous."

Bruce stood, "Prove it." He gestured for her to attack him.

She blinked, "I'm not going to kill you."

"You couldn't if you wanted to." He dared her.

Kayla sprang. He would concede that she was good but she wasn't _that_ good. He would grant her a few things, she was fighting with broken ribs, she hadn't revealed her real face and she wasn't actually trying to kill him. Batman blocked a kick meant for his stomach and sent his palm slamming into her sternum. Kayla stumbled back slightly then recovered with a blow to his recently bruised collarbone. He parried. She kept coming.

Batman had to be impressed. Waller had trained her well. The combinations had no obvious pattern and flowed smoothly between fighting styles. Kendo, aikido, buno, bare-knuckle boxing, Wing chun, Sambo and Tegumi seemed slightly favoured; to the average person, even the average superhero, she was dangerous.

Yet to him she'd yet to land a significant blow. Bruce narrowed his eyes and upped the ante. He had yet to get her to break focus but Three's presence today had. She had gone for the kill. He was going to make her try the same here. Batman broke in with a quick shot to the temple, she blocked it but the move was enough to allow him to set the tempo of the blows.

Batman didn't give her time to think. He left her with only reaction. Finally one of his blows connected; he smashed her across the jaw with his forearm. The spikes caught her chin, slicing cleanly through the fake face and leaving a trail of blood in their wake. He didn't give her time to recover and smashed a haymaker into her shoulder; it would have downed the average fighter.

That's when he saw it, in the moment before connection, a look he'd seen only once before and never on her face. Eyebrows dropped, pupils dilated and jaw set. Chaotic focus. She came at him, no longer bothering to block the blows. Indifferent. The haymaker connected. Kayla Wayne dropped to the ground, collapsing with the blow. Batman expected a pop-up body slam. She surprised him, using his own momentum to get under his feet and send him stumbling over her.

He tried not to step on her.

Six chose that moment to pop-up, when he was directly on top of her. Her cracked shoulder caught him in the groin, using both of their body weights to send him tumbling to the ground. She was on top of him, wailing on his face with only one arm, the other severely dislocated.

He let her. This was a point he needed to make.

Finally he saw her hand creep toward her back, unconsciously towards her sword. All according to Waller's training. He snapped upwards sending her flying, then moving quickly he reversed their positions. He snatched the sword from its harness and slammed it into the Batcave floor. With years of practised ease he then cuffed her to it.

Then he stepped back. Ideally he wondered how parenting textbooks would classify his particular style. He crossed his arms and stared at her.

She stared back, breathing heavily.

He watched her vitals. Her pupils were still dilated. Batman stood strong and looked down on her, "What happened."

It wasn't a question. It was a command.

She started to talk. He could almost hear her thoughts…

* * *

><p>Tim was worried about me. That was sweet of him, with all Bird boy's been through he should be worried about nothing but himself. I worry about him. He's still not entirely free of the Joker's influence. I worry that he never will be.<p>

My fingers slip as I try to hook the cape onto the armour. That's what you get for trying to dress while running to the teleporter and trying to drink a coffee. Too bad. I need the coffee.

It wouldn't be so strange I suppose if Tim couldn't rid Joker entirely, after all Barbara still deals with the Joker's influence on her life every day. He may have just taken her legs but the psychological damage of that… Jason didn't live through the Joker's play on his life. I suppose Dick was the only one of them who got out of the Joker unscathed. He'll bounce back. I wonder which villain will do me in. I'm pretty sure I know though.

I slip the cowl over my hair as I hop into the teleporter. Sometimes it feels so heavy.

I'm one of the last to arrive. It's one of the disadvantages of not having superpowers. I have more gear to look after. I try to find a friendly face in the crowd, I don't really know most of these people. Huntress catches my eye, she's crazy yes but the good kind of crazy. My kind of crazy. I'm not under any delusions. Honestly it's a miracle I'm as sane as I am.

Wonder Woman catches my eye. Even while keeping an ear on Superman's briefing I can't help it. She intrigues me. I'd love to talk to here. But you don't just go up to Wonder Woman and start chatting, well, not unless you're Kayla Wayne. She doesn't really have boundaries. But here I'm just Batgirl. Still Wonder Woman is amazing. She'd have to be. I know that Dad likes her even though he won't admit it. Batman doesn't really like just anybody. If he just kind of liked her he'd just sleep with her already. I mean I love him and all but he's a bit of a man-slut. Falling in love with like everyone. Wonder Woman is different to him, thus intriguing.

She looks worried though. I've got the benefit over most of us in that I know all about the random League attacks. Dad briefed me. This should be interesting.

I'm on Superman's squad. Of course I am. I always seem to be. I'd bet my backstory that Dad told him to keep an eye on me. To keep me safe. Blech. I can never decide if that's sweet or irritating. Both I suppose. It's ironic. If they knew who I really was… don't think that. You never know where Martians may be.

It's a pretty standard fight actually. Sure there are more bad guys running about but nothing that freaks me out. I've wandered a little farther than I'd like but Huntress and Booster Gold are nearby so I'm not worried. It's actually kind of fun. That's awful but I like smashing a couple of heads together. I'm good at it. If only Two could see me know, she'd… no I take that back. Keep Two dead please.

When Beetle's voice comes through the comm my stomach sinks. Superman's down. There's something more going down here. Of course there is. It was stupid of me to get cocky. But that's my track record, over confident. Sometimes I'm such a waste of space. I'm supposed to be the resident Bat. Use your head Kayla. Stop being such a Six.

I have to contribute. I activate my mic even as a I dodge Clayface. I'm surprised to see him here. Dad will want to know about this one. "It's got to be relatively near him or it wouldn't work. There's no way they could afford a big chunk." I say. Clayface tries to catch my feet and I grunt, "Yeah okay buddy, like I'm going to stay still." I grunt again remembering my mike is on. I try to sound Batmany, "try moving him away, and see if it gets better."

They're following my idea. Huh, maybe I do have some Batman leading chops on me. I start to reverse direction, heading back to the core group. If Superman is out I want to know what's going on over there. Booster's already gone and Huntress backs up with me. Suddenly the few remaining villains hightail it away. Helena and I exchange glances and burst into a run.

A few blocks later we see the four boys with their backs to Superman and Fire. They're taking punishment. Huntress can't help herself. She has to shout some cornball line. But honestly, she's fun to fight with, makes you feel spunky. I use the opportunity to throw a few Batarangs. I'm not the best shot but whatever, good enough. Although the nearby crowd makes me nervous. We need to get them out there pronto. I notice Dr Cyber get a little too close to the crowd for comfort and slip in to block him.

I check the crowd for old people and kids, basically anyone who book it out of there. My legs become lead when I see him. Three, just standing there in the crowd. Worst of all, he's grinning, not pleasantly, and right at me.

He knows it's me.

I can feel the change happen. My eyes narrow, I know from experience that my pupils are dilating. I objectively know that I should stop. That this side, Waller's side, One's side, the trained killer side is dangerous. But I also know that Three has only one side and it will kill me if I don't kill him first.

So I don't hesitate. I abandon Dr Cyber. Whatever is happening here to Superman has to be because of Three. There's Kryptonite involved, Three should be on his knees. But he's not. He knew it was coming. Somehow he prepared.

I don't think he expects me to be this audacious. I ignore the crowd and punch him right in the nose. It gives an extremely satisfying, albeit unexpected crack, as it breaks. So the Kryptonite is effecting him but not enough to incapacitate him. This may be my only chance.

I go for a kill shot, straight to the neck. He has the good sense to roll out of the way. I don't know how limited his powers are from the Kryptonite. I don't want to give him any opportunity. I go for him again. I crowd gets in my way. I feel arms trying to pull me back.

I react. I shove them out of my way as easily as the training dummies. They cascade backward, I should care but I don't. There's just him. If I finish him then I'm safe. I'm free.

He's grinning at me again. There's Kryptonite around the he has the sheer gall to mock me. He knows I can lip read and his mouth forms the simple word, "Hello." Then he winks.

I still have enough sense to pull him out of the crowd. He gets right in my ear as I do so, "So Six, seen _Jess and Eddie_ yet? They were just dying to see you again."

I can't help it, I shout at him, "They were good." It's all I can think to sum them up. They were good people, good as he'll never be, as I'll never be.

If I'd had any doubt that he'd killed my siblings it dries up as I see red. Three does nothing to defend himself as I pull out the sword. He's seen me fight with it dozens of times. He knows I'm good. He finally takes off down the block, I go after him.

We leave the crowd and heroes far behind.

Finally he talks freely. I round a corner and arm straight into an arm of steel. I feel my ribs crack as I flip over it, ruined by my own momentum. I find my feet. Keeping the sword in front of me.

We fight as we hadn't since our last training session. When it was do or die. The last time I killed. My brain has time to process nothing. Everything is reaction. His powers. I'm horribly outmatched without Kryptonite. We both know it. Still he seems weaker, sometimes I draw blood. Must be latent effects. I don't feel the pain as much as I should. I chalk it up to adrenaline.

"So Six," he's almost casual as we spar, "how've you been hiding your face? The face rec scans didn't pick anything up." I say nothing. Dad's facial mask worked. He continues, "We could have just picked you up somewhere but no, you get all sneaky. Now I've got to go the trouble of ripping that stupid Bat cowl off your face to see what's underneath." My blood runs cold.

Of course he notices. Stupid super-senses. He grins again, "Maybe while I'm at it I'll finish off Batman himself. You've probably strapped yourself to his secret ID too right? Made him vulnerable sis," he mocks, "It's all your fault when I turn him inside out. I'll get the little human sidekicks too. You should be impressed though, Waller didn't squeal. Now you will."

He reaches for the cowl and I move just in time. Only a small section rips off. He tosses it aside like it's nothing. "You should have told him the truth Six. Now your lies will kill him. Or," he ponders, "you never should have involved them in the first place."

He advances, "You know this is inevitable. You can't avoid your destiny. Our destiny. We are who we are."

Sometimes I think that if I say it enough I'll believe it, "I'm not." He shrugs and reaches again for the cowl. I finally get a proper slice in, my blade flies across his chest and his blood spurts all over me. That must have been some kryptonite. I don't know what he did but my own chest suddenly flashes with pain.

I persevere. He's grappling with the cowl, trying to rip it off without taking my head with it. Superhero problems. I go for the gut when I feel it in my neck. A dart. Three looks over my shoulder, I pray he kills whomever it is quickly. I fall to the ground as the drugs take effect, twisting to see whom I accidently killed. Huntress, my gut twists. Then I hear Three, "Well I'll catch you later _Batgirl_." He leaves. I feel like my shock is written across my face, too drugged to control it. Then I see Zatanna on Huntress' heels. I let myself breath. He was still vulnerable to magic.

I catch their faces and I know it's over for me. I've crossed the line. I'm done. I can't explain because they can't know. I'm a danger to my family. I've got to run. If Three's going to find me I need to be far away. Somewhere with no connection to Bruce or Alfred or Tim. Then black.

* * *

><p>As she told her story Kayla's breath had calmed, her jaw released. She was back. Bruce sat stoically while she spoke, silent.<p>

"That's why you have to let me go," Kayla finished, "he's looking for me and he won't stop. I'll go somewhere far away and we can kill each other. I can't stay here."

Batman watched her, "He won't find you."

"Suppose he does," Kayla said, she wasn't even trying to remove the handcuffs from her fight with Bruce. "Suppose he comes here and starts a fight. My training will kick in, you know it will, I'll kill you Bruce. I won't want to but I will. Suppose they get me back on program. Who knows who he's working for. There's some creepy stuff out there. Cadmus has ways. They'll turn me into a weapon and then I'll kill you like I was designed to."

The Batman expression was clear on Bruce's face, "Don't flatter yourself Kayla, as we just saw here, you wouldn't be able to kill me. Not on your own."

"Fine!" Kayla said, "So I'm not that good but my point still stands. I could do damage. I'm supposed to."

Bruce's face was finally kind as he tossed her the cuff key, "You're more than that Kayla. I trust you. You're not supposed to do anything, when push comes to shove, you're _my daughter_." Bruce's voice was firm, "we don't do anything that we're supposed to."

Kayla's face showed her confliction, "I… I appreciate the sentiment but… I mean… let's put all that aside. You know I can't stay here. I… You… we can't take the chance that Three will find me here. Maybe you'll be fine and I don't care but, Dad. What about Tim and Alfred?" She let the question hang. "Don't ask me to risk them."

Bruce broke eye contact first.

"You know he'll kill them." Kayla pressed, "He's your son. You can't risk one for the other. I can't stay and put everyone else in danger. You can't ask that of me. I messed up. It's my problem. I need to go. I can't stay around you." She grabbed the edge of the fake face mask and pulled it off by the cuts from Bruce's armour. "You can't save me and endanger everyone else."

He stared at her, at her real face, the genetically chosen one.

"Please…" she begged, "if something happened… let me go."

Batman put the cowl back on and stood, "Which car is your favourite?"

"Whaa-?" One look from Batman silenced the question, "the Aston Martin One-77"

Batman gave her a look, "Second favourite."

"Convertible yellow corvette," she said staring at him.

He nodded and hit a few buttons on the dash. A huge crashing noise filled the manor and echoes around the cave. A quick peek at the screens showed the beloved yellow corvette smashed into the wall of the garage as the apparently spring loaded floor settled back into place.

Kayla threw her hands in the air, "I need to leave! Not get some weird kind of punishment."

"This isn't punishment," Batman started pulling up files all over the computer, "this is a compromise. You can't stay here but I need to keep an eye on you where you'll be safe. Provided someone upholds their promise of a favour you're getting the best scenario I can set up."

* * *

><p><strong>Mixed it up and tried some in story train of thought, I hope that wasn't too confusing for you guys. Also I want to apologize for how long this story is getting. If I was starting from the beginning I definitely would have structred it differently but c'est la vie, learning curve! I still can't believe this is still my first story. I count maybe sixish chapters until we catch up with the future text and then I need to wrap that up. Soooooo this is going to be pretty long... Thanks so much for sticking with me though, I really do appreciate your thoughts and comments. They help me as a writer. I know there's a lot for everyone to remember so I'm always happy to answer questions if you leave them in the review I'll PM you. <strong>

**Also the person who owes Bats a favour, that was mentioned a looooong time ago in this story**


	34. Arrested

Batman wanted to meet her at an upscale apartment in Gotham city. With a million guesses Diana never would have picked this scenario. Regardless she came as requested – teleported in blocks away and wore civilian clothing.

Using his key Diana found Bruce Wayne sitting calmly on the couch, laptop in hand.

"How's Kayla?" she asked immediately.

He closed the computer, "Well, she's not actually in a celebrity rehab facility for her drug problem after totalling a car in a drunken-high stupor."

"I assumed," Diana took the seat across from him. The apartment was neatly furnished, very modern, very expensive but with surprising feminine touches that, at a guess, she'd say had nothing to do with Bruce's taste. The man in question said nothing, preferring to stare out the big window rather than tell her why he'd asked her to make the journey to Gotham. Diana continued, "Clean-up has gone relatively well, as I'm sure you know. Luthor's used it to fuel his anti-Justice League campaign but at sum total Mr. Terrific is estimating that Batgirl's actions reflect less on the League than our other members." She smiled slightly not knowing that Mr. Terrific's estimation was wrong, "Apparently everyone already thinks anyone going by the name Bat is mildly insane." Bruce said nothing, running his hand along the side of his laptop.

Diana frowned at the nearly-nervous gesture and took the moment to really look at Bruce. This was not the playboy. This was dark circles under his eyes, messy dress shirt, and twitching, the father. Yes, he was the unflappable Bat but Diana wondered how much more the father could take. Jason's death, Barbara's shooting, Tim's run in with the Joker, and now Kayla's apparent mental break. Scars covered his children inside and out, each a blow to the father. If Dick fell apart too...

She reached out and softly took his hand, "Bruce, why am I here?"

Bruce's eyes tightened at her touch, focusing. Diana braced herself for the deluge of facts that always followed, "Kayla isn't my natural born daughter. She's a creation of a pre-Cadmus entity that was looking to take DNA from the existing superheroes and create their own breed of super soldier that was calibrated to counter, or at least match, the existing super beings. Originally, as we were the first to emerge, the bulk of the work was done on Clark and myself. The program would eventually morph into the Superboy project. Waller once worked a subset of the program. With the creation of Cadmus the existing creations were deemed too unstable for proper military use and were terminated."

Diana inhaled sharply. Despite Bruce's clinical explanation she understood the translation. They'd created humans with his DNA and then killed them when it suited the government.

Bruce continued, "Kayla was believed to be the only survivor until events revealed the existence of a second survivor. Highly powered Superman derivative, highly unstable, uncertain allegiance. That's who she attacked on the street and why she defaulted to the mercenary level training she was given as a test subject. He's made it quite clear that he intends to find Kayla, kill those associated her, bring her in and, most likely kill her." He paused, "Although I'm willing to maintain her presence in the Manor, Kayla refuses. She claims that she's unnecessarily putting the family in danger, regardless of the fact that we would all prefer she stay. However, if I don't make alterative arrangements she will strike out on her own despite knowing that her chances of survival drop drastically."

That's when Diana caught up to his thinking, "You want to send her to Themiscira." Diana nodded, "I'd be more than happy to make the arrangements. Mother and the Amazons would take good care of her until we can sort everything out on this end. Artemis would be thrilled to have a new warrior to train."

"While I appreciate the offer, not Themescira," Bruce said.

Diana frowned at him, "There is nowhere safer."

Bruce shook his head slightly, "There are ways to breach the island, Princess. While I'm sure your family would do their upmost I will not take chances with my daughter. Themescira is the safest option but it is also the most obvious option, this lessens its safety."

"Smallville then," Diana suggested, "if you want her to disappear into obscurity there's no better place. I'm sure Mrs Kent would be happy for the company."

"They may know about Superman," Bruce's whisper was worse than a shout, "Waller disappeared and has yet to return. Her office shows signs of forced entry. Superman was too prominent a part of the project, nothing associated with him can be risked."

Diana nodded once but didn't push. There was something about Superman and the project that Bruce wasn't telling her but Batman was in a sharing mood. She wasn't going to push it on something not directly related to the problem. She had a better question, one she hoped she knew the answer to, "If you don't want to send her to Themiscira," Diana said softly, "why am I here Bruce?"

"I need you to make it look like we've sent her there, without her actually being there." He said immediately. Diana fought down the disappointment, that was not what she'd been hoping for.

"Of course," she said, "anything to help."

Bruce looked back out the window, his hand once again rubbing the side of his laptop. There was something else. Something more to say. Undoubtedly related to where he'd actually planned to send Kayla but something that was making the great Batman uncomfortable.

Diana was done with his nonsense. She leaned back into the chair, "Are you going to tell me what else? Or are you going to make me guess? If you'd just wanted a Themescira fake-out you'd just have pulled up a comm link and there'd be no backstory involved. Just a barked, 'do this Diana'."

Finally Bruce met her eyes, "Kayla will stay here."

"In Gotham?" Diana interrupted.

"In this apartment," Bruce clarified, "They expect her to run, they expect me to send her far away. They expect her anywhere but Gotham. Naturally it becomes the best choice. The least expected and I can keep an eye on her." He snorted, "Not that I was ever going to send my daughter off with someone I didn't trust explicitly. Your mother and Mrs Kent are exemplary women but I can't say I trust them. Neither can come to Gotham."

A teasing smile crept onto Diana's face, "So I can expect Mr. Kent and his niece to be moving into this condo?"

"No," Bruce kept her eyes but kept stroking the laptop. "Kent has an established identity. They'll be looking for alterations in patterns. Clark Kent, star journalist, moving from Metropolis to Gotham would spark attention. Not to mention the identity of Clark Kent has no established siblings and therefore no opportunity for nieces. I need a high-powered, highly attentive, trust worthy superhero with a flexible secret identity and a knowledge of the situation and a comfort level with my daughter."

That's when Diana got it. Why she was here. What his asking her here meant. That didn't mean she wasn't going to make him ask.

The words finally came out, "Diana, how do you feel about temporarily relocating to Gotham?"

* * *

><p>"Mom!" the word bounced up the stairs as Diana's new fake daughter hauled boxes out of the elevator, "Where do you want this box labelled 'Not the kitchen sink'?"<p>

Diana considered the mess, "Living room."

Kayla pranced by, dumped the box on the couch and ran back to the elevator. Shayara looked on grinning. Diana had insisted that she still be able to see her friend so Shayara's wings were hidden behind high frequency vibrations and a wig was on her head. Batman had a variety of threats lined up for if she even stepped one toe out of the apartment.

"You have to wonder," the now brown haired Thanagarian said, "If Bruce had the prosthetics to make her look like you just lying around. No-one could make a mask that good in two days, not even him. The resemblance is freaky."

Diana had to agree that the changes were strong. While she hadn't asked Bruce for details somehow Kayla Wayne now looked nearly exactly like her. Slightly wider chin, flatter nose, freckles, but no-one would be doubting the family resemblance. The trademark Wayne family baby blues were hidden behind brown contact lenses and a pair of the biggest, nerdiest glasses Diana had seen.

Her own alteration was simpler. A pair of glasses, thankfully smaller and more modern than Kayla's, and a promise to wear her hair any way but down. Currently, that meant a messy ponytail. No-one had looked twice as Diana and Kayla Prince drove up to the apartment and started unloading their – fake- belongings.

"I've given up wondering what that man has lying around," Diana confessed.

Shayara shrugged, "Secret files and bat poop probably. You could find out, I think your fake mom status should get you some perks besides a temporary fancy smancy apartment, a temporary bajillion dollar job, and a fake boyfriend." Shayara practically leaned out of the chair trying to catch Diana in a blush.

The Amazon refuse to give her the pleasure simply on principle, "The situation isn't funny Shy. Kayla is in serious trouble and if this is the best way to help her, then I'm happy to do so." Shayara raised on eyebrow. "Really," Diana added, "it's just another mission."

"With Bat-booty bonus." Shayara grinned.

Kayla walked through the door, "Please, please, please never say Bat-booty bonus where I can hear. Ever." She shuddered and dropped another box on the floor.

"You're sure that's not full of bricks?" Diana asked at the loud thump.

Kayla shrugged, "Pretty much," she pulled it open to reveal a selection of fat textbooks with words like genetics and genome scrawled across the covers, "As a second year University student a certain amount of reading is required for my major. I've got to catch up before I start on Wednesday."

Diana frowned, she'd assumed Kayla would be staying in the apartment, "Alone?"

"Nope," the girl said, "B is paying Bart is take the classes with me. He's paying him double to whisk me away at the sign of literally anything from a car backfire and up. Overprotective bugger."

Shayara smiled, "I think you should count yourself lucky he didn't chain you up in a basement somewhere until he could deal with the problem."

"Pshaw," Kayla said, "As if he could ever chain me up. Trust me, this overprotective bugger scenario is a based on a length and very wordy compromise that we haggled over for hours, wrote up, and signed. Otherwise he'd just spend all his time locking me up and chasing me back down when I got away. There's not a lot that could make me stay in one place."

"So I should expect you to take off any day now? Diana asked, "because I can't say that I support that decision."

Kayla shook her head, plopping a textbook back in the box, "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. B came up with the one thing that would make me stay."

"Which is?" Tactless was Shayara.

"Secrets," Kayla winked then, in a blatant attempt at changing the conversation, "Look at the time! Don't we have a Themescira scam to play on everyone we care about?"

* * *

><p>Kayla's sheer amount of wiggle-ability surprised Diana. It wasn't a problem when you had super strength but Diana had to wonder how Bruce was hanging onto his daughter. Sandwiched between Batman and Wonder Woman, each with a hand around her bicep was a furiously squirming Batgirl.<p>

Walking through the Watchtower was creating a bit of a scene, which was the whole point.

"This can't be legally sanctioned by the United Nations!" Kayla shouted, "Remember the UDHR? Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That thing? Batman don't tell me you haven't read it. You read the phone book. You read the dictionary. You read that incredibly boring 324 page report on the importance of integrating the anaxyrus punctatus to the western Mediterranean. That's the red-spotted frog, not some horrible disease like the name would suggest. You've read the UDHR. Diana, you're the poster child for human rights and freedom and the whole world so I know you've read it too. There has to be something in there about non-consenting legal adults being treated like tiny children. Contrary to popular belief I am not a tiny child. Neither tiny nor child. I do not consent to being taken to Themescira. Let go. Let go. Let go."

Heads were popping out of doorways as they walked by. Expressions ranged from a snickering Huntress to a concerned Flash to a bright-red-on-your-behalf Atom. The word Themescira echoed down the halls, reaching heroes and civilian contractors alike. Plan successful.

But Kayla wasn't done yet. With a deep breath she started again, "STRANGER DANGER. Stranger danger. You'd think in an orbiting space ship full of super powered superheroes that a girl could get a little help. I think I'm being clear. I AM BEING KIDNAPPED BY BATMAN AND WONDER WOMAN AND TAKEN TO THEMESCIRA AGAINST MY WILL. Someone call CNN. This is big news people. Big bucks in your pocket. Two founders going rouge here. Poor helpless girl being carted away. Just ignore my Batsuit. Journalistic integrity. Makes a better story." The wiggling continued as she spotted a new mark, "GREEN ARROW," the poor man looked up at the resounding holler, "People think it's Superman because he's a boy scout but you're all about helping the little guy right." Arrow stared, Canary starting to laugh at his deer-in-the-headlights expression, "I promise in this situation I'm the little guy. Man on the street. Don't tell me you haven't wanted to shoot Batman in the chest at least once. Everyone has. I'm giving you an excuse."

They kept going. Bruce and Diana both straight faced although Diana desperately wanted to let the smile out. She kept going as Batman handed Kayla's arm to Shayara on the jet. "What about the Declaration of Independence? Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Kayla shouted, her voice echoing in the hanger, "I have life but I seem to be sorely lack in liberty and my happiness. Granted I'm trying to pursue it but no-one is helping me. What about the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. How do you feel about French people? Maybe I'm French. Viva la revolution. Je desire que vous m'aidiez. Maintainent. NOW please" She dived towards the door as it slammed shut, "Window of opportunity closing."

* * *

><p>As the jet left the Watchtower Diana finally let the smile out, "I'm impressed Kayla."<p>

The girl grinned, "I hope I thoroughly embarrassed Dad. I think it's important that kids embarrass their parents every once in a while don't you?"

"Anything to keep him humble," Diana quipped. Shayara chuckled.

Kayla flung herself into a chair, "So where are we going? Got a few hours to kill. Let's go undercover somewhere fun, like the Russian tundra! Never been there."

Both women shivered, "Actually," Diana said, "I was thinking of actually going home for a few hours."

"What!" Kayla said, "Really?"

"If that's okay? I thought it would be nice to see Mother and it makes everything more convincing," Diana asked, suddenly worried about disappointing Kayla.

"That's totally and completely and absolutely okay."

A zip through the atmosphere, quick pass over the ocean, a few unnecessary arial flips from an uncommonly showy Diana and the plane set down on white beaches. Waiting for them was a group of soldiers, "Welcome home Princess," Artemis greeted her, "it's good to see you sister."

"You as well sister," Diana stepped off the ramp, embracing the Amazons. With Shayara and Kayla following both stumbled when the island let out two consecutive tremors.

Artemis smirked at the tense newcomers, "Nothing to worry about. Themescira was just welcoming home its Princess."

Diana frowned, "I don't remember two tremors."

"You've been gone awhile," Artemis said, "try not to do it again. It makes the Queen slightly moody. I imagine the island is feeding off that."

"My apologies sister," Diana said, "I promise my time away has been put to good use." They spoke as they walked. Shayara having visited before picking up on some of her old repore with the Amazons. Mostly that meant arguing over the benefits of maces versus every traditional Greek weapon. Kayla, on the other hand, could not have looked less like Batgirl. The outfit was in place but her every step was punctured with spins and head twists as the Wayne tried to take it all in.

It was a challenge to keep Kayla moving. First she rushed into the forest, "That bird," she announced when they rounded her up, "is extinct." The next time she stopped cold in front of the Temple to Athena. The third distraction was the Amazon training pits, Shayara added to the problem in that instance.

Finally they made it to the palace. Hippolyta was waiting, less queen and more mother. "Diana," she descended from the throne to greet her daughter, "I'm pleased to see you."

"I as well Mother," the women embraced, "I apologize for the length between visits. Man's World has been turbulent as of late."

"When is it not?" Hippolyta said.

Diana smiled, "Abnormally turbulent. Recent events necessitated my continued presence."

"Well, you've returned now." Hippolyta said.

"Only for a few hours," Diana cautioned, "Mother, I have come with a request."

The Queen frowned, "On behalf of this Justice League?" She nodded at Shayara and added, "It is good to see you again sister but the omens have not spoken well. I do not know if we will be able to meet your request. I must think of my people first."

Shayara, abnormally respectful, inclined her head in kind, "While the League would always appreciate the help, I'm here only in a bodyguard capacity. Not," Shayara was quick to add, "that we expect any trouble with your people."

The Queen looked troubled, "A personal request then Diana? Perhaps we should speak in private." She lifted a hand, dismissing the soldiers. Shayara nodded at the Queen and left with them, eager to try her hand at the training pits.

Kayla was the most uncertain, "Should I..." she said.

"It may be best if you stay," Diana said, "Mother, this is Batgirl."

"Pleasure," Hippolyta said, "I assume you are associated with the dark man they call the Batman?"

"Yes ma'am," Kayla nodded.

"He was here on the island once," the Queen said, "A great warrior, for a man. I'm pleased to see that he's not so narrow minded as to avoid training females. However," she added, "despite his previous efforts for my people the omens do not bode well for the island. As I told the hawk warrior, I do not know how much assistance I can provide."

"Minimal assistance only," Diana assured her, "but it would mean much to us. We only require your part in a small deception."

The Queen frowned, "Deception. Diana, as guardian of the truth you know better than I the importance of the truth. More wars have been fought over secrets than anything else." She looked her daughter over, "If this is what man's world has done to you I cannot say that I condone the transformation."

"Mother." Diana snapped.

Hippolyta pressed on, "Even a small deception can have large implications. There are very few situations that warrant deception in any capacity, even if they are done with the best of intentions. Diana," she said, "I'm sure that your intentions are noble but please, think them through carefully. Your heart is good and suspect this deception is not of your own doing. Do not make a plea on another's behalf unless you are sure of their intent."

Diana's jaw tightened, "If you think so highly of my goodness mother, then I would trust you to think highly of my judgement. Unfortunately, things are rarely so black and white outside of Themescira as you'd like. However, my request to you is for a friend whom I highly trust and respect. I'm asking you to trust my judgement."

The two royals stared at each other, chins up, neither used to backing down from their, albeit diplomatically put, strong opinions.

"It's about me," Kayla finally interjected, "I'll ask. There are a variety of vicious people trying to hunt me down and we'd like to lead them to believe that I've been sequestered away on this island."

Hippolyta's gaze bounced to the girl, "You're just a child. Why are you being hunted?"

Kayla shrugged, "Long story short? I'm both a liability and an asset. Science experiment that grew up in a government lab with a couple brothers and sister. We were supposed to be weapons. I've since watched my family get killed off and they're coming for me. And in the interest of disclosure," she plucked the cowl from her head and smiled at the Queen, "Batman is my father."

"I see," Hippolyta's expression had softened as she observed the girl who looked like her daughter.

"Diana's agreed to keep an eye on as my fake mother," Kayla explained, "seeing as I can't stay with Dad. But to throw them off the trail we were hoping to say I was here. I doubt they'll be able to get in but just so you're aware, if you say yes, there is a chance that they could attempt an attack on the island."

Hippolyta nodded slowly, "If you would follow me to a more comfortable location," she said, "it seems we have much to discuss."

* * *

><p><em>I'm just sorry. That's all I got, sorry it's been *wince* two years. If you're still reading thismildly interested thank you so much and you are awesome. You can thank the handful of people who left reviews and PMs for me to finish. It did work and I did see it but I felt far too guilty to answer. You can also thank the person who wrote a 200,000 word story, marked it complete and then never finished it because they made me so angry that I started writing again. Finally you can thank my boss for hiring me so that I have the time to write instead of work on my thesis and panic about finding a job._

_basically sorry and thank you. I've never felt more Canadian. _


	35. First Dates

"Well, I'm done for the day," In typical Friday night fashion, Bruce Wayne leaned against his secretary's desk, "do me a favour and hold all my calls or send them to someone else or whatever it is you do that keeps me from being bothered."

"Of course sir," the secretary smiled, "busy evening?"

Bruce nodded, "An old friend has recently moved to Gotham." He winked at his secretary, "and I thought we'd get back in touch."

"If you say so sir," the secretary said.

Bruce laughed, "Well someone's gotten cheeky since their vacation. I hear some disagreement there. Don't approve of my less than honourable intentions?"

This time the woman smiled, "I think that, for once, your intentions are more than honourable."

"Really?" Bruce said, "And your poorly informed, very wrong, amateur detective conclusions are based on?"

"Well sir," the secretary said, "you've never had me order two single red roses before. It's always annoying extravagant bouquets. I always order the girl a car and bring her to you. Tonight, you're using your own car and, I assume, picking her up. And finally sir," she said, "you missed a button when you changed shirts."

Bruce looked down, scowled, and started rebuttoning, "I thought I fixed that."

"It's all in the details sir," she winked as he walked towards the elevator, "have fun."

* * *

><p>Bruce was trying very hard not to think about anything his secretary had said. He parked his car, took the elevator to the sixth floor, stopped outside the door to triple check his shirt buttons, and knocked.<p>

"Coming!" Kayla's voice preceded her whipping the door open. She grinned at him, "Hi. She's not ready yet, would you like to come in?" Stepping back to let him pass, she shouted into the apartment, "Mom, your date's here and you haven't introduced me."

"Not so loud Kayla," Diana chastised, "I'm right here." She stepped out of the bedroom hallway while slipping in an earring. The dress was modest, coming to the knee with small cap sleeves, but fit well. The shade of green wasn't something he was accustomed to seeing on Diana and so he mentally applauded her on the choice. Even though Bruce knew that having her curls bouncing in a ponytail and keeping the glasses on her nose were enough to fool the general population into seeing Diana Prince, archaeologist, he couldn't help but see his Diana.

"For you," Bruce held out the roses, one in each hand, to the women.

Diana smiled and sniffed the flower, "Thank you Bruce."

The moment was ruined by Kayla. She plucked the other flower, waved it around and said, "Trying to suck up to your date's daughter huh? I see right through that one and will now hate you on principle."

Bruce rolled his eyes, "The door is closed and I doubt any bug could beat my system. Just enjoy the flower, my secretary is suspicious enough as is."

"But it's so much fun!" Kayla said, "I've got to stay in character. I spent a lot of time figuring it out. I, of course, have Daddy abandonment issues after the scumbag ditched Mom and I for some young skirt. Since we've spent so much time on archaeological digs I figure I'm probably a big old nerd with low people skills and an embarrassing large amount of historical knowledge." She paused, "what I really need to complete the cover is some kind of boyfriend."

"No boys." Batman growled, "None. No."

Diana collected both flowers and moved into the kitchen to snip the bottoms and find a vase, "You're going to give Bruce a heart attack." She chastised gently, brushing against Bruce as she passed.

"No boys." Batman repeated, "Boys are bad."

Kayla considered, "Maybe I'll date Bart. You've got him following me everywhere anyway."

"No boys."

"I mean, he's funny enough. Keeps the day interesting. Likes science, so that's a plus, and he's not turned off by the whole constant danger thing."

"No boys."

"You're going to need a better argument," Diana commented.

"Really," Kayla said, "it would be irresponsible of me not to date him. It would make a much better cover for why we're always together."

"No boys."

"Come on," Kayla said, "talk about a double standard. You're literally standing in this apartment to take Diana on a date because it makes a better cover beyond working together as to why you're always around."

Bruce was silent for a moment. Then, "no boys."

"AHHHHHHHH," Kayla flopped against the couch, "it's like a brick wall. Just go already. Someone should get a fake date and Diana's already put on the dress and everything."

Bruce sat beside her, "We'll go eventually, but I need you to tell me about your day first."

"Nothing went wrong," Diana frowned, "was an alarm tripped? Should I be worried?"

"Actually," Bruce shook his head, "I just wanted to know how the first official day of school was." Kayla grinned at him. Out of the corner of his eye, Bruce saw Diana's flicker from concern to shock to something that made his stomach flutter. Squelching it he reached into the bag at his feet, "Also, Tim wants me to inform you that it is absolutely necessary that someone beat me at Clue." He placed the board game on the table, "Apparently I'm insufferable."

Kayla's chatter started immediately as she pulled the lid off the box and Bruce didn't fight the small smile at her description of her peers as stupid, un-imaginative slugs. He spotted Diana backing out of the room, most likely in an attempt to give the father-daughter duo some privacy.

A well aimed shot sent the 'Miss Scarlet' token flying into her hand, "You playing Princess?"

* * *

><p>"I can't believe you beat me," Bruce held the door open for Diana, "Alfred was the last person to do it and that was years ago."<p>

Diana raised her eyebrows, "You weren't the only one trained in strategy and deduction, Bruce."

"Clearly, I'm rusty." He said before turning to the host and becoming Bruce Wayne with a crick of his neck, "Well now, good evening sir." He shook the man's hand overeagerly, "I'm Bruce. Bruce Wayne. This is my gorgeous date, Miss Prince. Now, Miss Prince here is an old family friend and she's just come back in town." He leaned in and whispered, "I'd really like to impress her and I've heard nothing but good things about this fine restaurant of yours. It's supposed to have the best food in the city. Now, I know we don't have a reservation and all, and I'm sure you're positively packed. I mean, why wouldn't you be with food like yours? But I was hoping you'd be willing to squeeze us in somewhere."

"Of course, Mr Wayne sir," the man's voice cracked, "I'm sure we can find you a table. Just give me a minute to speak to the manager."

Moments later they were making their way to the table, winding through the dimly lit dining room. Diana whispered in his ear, "Bruce Wayne can't just make a reservation? Too taxing to pick up the phone or the secretary forgot?" Bruce chuckled but was too busy focused on not tripping in the winding maze of near darkness, chairs, and legs.

This was ridiculous, he was the Batman. A dark dining room should not be giving him trouble. He sat on the chair, reaching for what he was 95% sure was the menu and used his ears rather than his eyes to confirm that it was Diana sitting across from him. He wondered if supervillians had ever considered this sort of thing.

"Thank you," he smiled at his best guess as to where the host was, "we'll take your best red, please."

"Of course sir," came the disembodied reply, "your server will be with you shortly."

Bruce squinted into the darkness and then at his menu. Nothing. Resolving to simply order whatever the waiter recommended he put the menu down, "So," he said to the woman he could hardly see, "Anything that sounds palpable on there?" Maybe he could order something that Diana mentioned if the recommended dish had something slimy in it.

There was a pause from Diana's side of the table. "Bruce," she said finally, "I can't see a thing on this menu."

He absorbed that fact that even Diana's super senses were having trouble in the 'dim' dining room, "Well," his smile was wry, "that makes two of us. And if we can't see anything I shudder for the rest of the room."

"What?" Diana said. Even though Bruce couldn't see it, he could hear the smile in her voice, "you, of all people, are having trouble seeing in a dimly light environment. Why Mr Wayne. I'd have expected better. We're really pulling back the curtain on all your bluster this evening aren't we?"

Bruce leaned forward and whispered, "I left my night vision goggles in the car Miss Prince.

However, I'd be happy to retrieve them for you provided you warn me if anything unwanted ends up on my plate."

Suddenly Bruce found himself able to see Diana. She copied his pose, leaning across the table into the whisper. Her breath ghosted across his face, "Giving up your only pair of night vision goggles. How very gentlemanly of you."

The words slipped out, "Only for you Diana."

This was easier from behind the mask. Either of them. The hardness of the cowl, the sloppiness of the playboy. Without them all Bruce could see was Diana, there was nothing to filter her. In the dark restaurant she still seemed to glow and Bruce wondered how he'd ever been unable to see her. The light danced in her eyes as though fed by sparks from her soul and there was nothing he could do to avoid them. Without the cowl, the playboy, without his filter the sparks jumped freely. Bouncing from her eyes to his and landing in the embers of his soul. He could almost feel the settle, urging on what fire he had left.

His right hand was already on the table, her left less than an inch away. One quick motion, had his hand over hers before his brain could think to overrule the gesture. But she smiled and the protest shut down entirely. Her mouth opened and the brain leapt into full gear, that close, he could steal a kiss.

He never got the chance, "Sir, Miss," the waiter. Of course, "Is there anything I can help you with this evening?"

Bruce leaned back, eying Diana who almost looked disappointed. Finally he reached into his back pocket and turned to the waiter, "How much will it cost for us to get some light in here?"

The answer was a Grand. In a swanky restaurant one grand will get the host to rush across the road to the hardware store, buy a giant camping lantern and set it on the table in the most artistic way possible. Bruce wasn't convinced that it even was possible to make a camping lantern artistic but it was light. And if all the tables around them happened to like being able to see their menus too, that was incidental. He could see Diana.

* * *

><p>He could still see her two hours later as they pulled out of the McDonald's drive-through with burgers and chocolate milkshakes.<p>

Diana dived into the fries, "Why," she asked, "do the fanciest restaurants insist on giving the smallest portions? Excellent presentation cannot fill one's stomach."

"Most of my dates never even finish their meals," Bruce pulled out a burger, "maybe that restaurant specifically caters to skinny air-heads."

"Don't call women skinny air-heads," Diana said, "it's rude. But," she acquiesced, "they certainly couldn't have been full. I'd imagine they sought to impress you with their tiny appetites and then immediately went home and consumed something nourishing. Perhaps, in the future," Diana's eyes flashed, "you should send a pizza to the girl's residence after the date."

The flash in her eyes bothered him. Certainly this was a fake date and a fake relationship but that didn't mean they weren't friends. Just because he'd never told her that didn't mean he wanted her to feel unhappy. Putting the burger down, he pulled out his cell phone.

Diana moved onto the milkshake, "What are you doing?"

He tapped the final button with a flourish, "Sending you a pizza."

"Bruce," Diana threw a fry at him, "I don't need a pizza."

"Well you're getting one." He leaned back against the car door, "never let it be said that Bruce Wayne doesn't take care of old friends."

Diana rolled her eyes, "I meant to ask you about that. How long have Diana Prince and Bruce Wayne been friends? I'm sure you've got a whole back story worked out."

Bruce chuckled, "You didn't get a copy of Kayla's thirty page extensive analysis of the character and history of the Princes and Waynes?"

"I asked for the cliff's notes," Diana said, "I got a four page executive summary. But I wanted to know what your thoughts were?"

"We met when I was traveling through..." Bruce began only to be cut off by an incessant beeping. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out something that looked like a cell phone, opened it, and read the screen. His face immediately darkened. The smile pulled down into a straight line.

"What happened?" Diana asked.

"Bane's been abducting children. Got a solid tip on his location." Bruce hit a button on the console. The back seats folded back to reveal the batsuit, ready to go, "I trust you can find your own way home."

Diana frowned, a small wrinkle appearing between her eyebrows, "Let me come with you."

"No."

"Fine." Diana said and Bruce struggled to keep the surprise off his face. Then, "I'm not asking. I'm just coming with you."

Bruce started lifting the suit from its hiding spot, "No, you're not."

Diana rolled her eyes, "Did you miss the part where I said I'm not asking? You can't go alone and you have no-one else to go with you. During the sticking incident I went to crime scenes with you and no-one said a word." She pulled her bracelets out of her purse and slid them on, "Like it or not Batman, you know that I can match Bane; those kids need all the help they can get."

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later Batman and Wonder Woman were making their way through a manufacturing facility.<p>

"Stop floating Princess," Batman growled, "Bane's still bigger than you. Keep your center of gravity down."

With barely a sound Diana's boots touched down, small puffs of dust floating into the darkness of the plant. The building was dark but well maintained as rows of raw material sat waiting for the next day's labour. Whatever this was, it wasn't Bane's center of operations. Batman scowled as they padded through the darkness. He never liked relying on anonymous tips to the GCP but this one had been filtered by his own system as potentially legitimate. The GCP had agreed, encircling the building but having the decency to stay outside. When it came to children even Batman pulled out all the stops.

Batman consciously avoided grinding his teeth at the thought of the tip. Anonymous, over the phone, muffled, male, and with good enough information to make it seem tantilizing. The man had seen kid's toys, he'd heard what sounded like a gunshot, he even described Bane's new red muscle juice instead of the usual green.

It had to be a trap.

They continued forward. To be an effective trap the kids had to be nearby and that was what mattered. Diana pressed both wonderfully close and uncomfortable close to his back as they crept through the roundabout route to the center of the building. Operations room, heart of the plant. One door in and out.

Diana broke the silence, "Look," she whispered, a hitch in her voice.

His only response was a hard exhale. There was a scruffy, white teddy bear lying on the dirty plant floor.

When Diana stepped out of formation to grab it, he didn't stop her. Extending a hand, he took the bear from her and checked it over. Missing an ear. Not recent, most likely from too much love. The flipped it over, a small mist of blood was visible. Both heroes visibly hardened.

Bruce's jaw set.

Diana's hands clenched.

Batman tucked the bear into his belt and moved towards the door, hand on the doorknob. Without prompting Diana moved to the other side of the door, waiting. Batman ran a quick check over the door, no wires, no explosives. It wasn't Bane's style but lately nothing from missions to Diana to his children had made sense. He tripled checked, refusing to let the worry curling in his stomach get the better of him. Everything would be fine. This was nothing like the Joker and Tim.

His hand skipped slightly at the unwelcome thought. Of course it wasn't like Tim. He could handle this. It would not happen again. Not on his watch. Not kids. He looked up to see Diana watching him. A quick smile when he met her eyes. He analyzed it immediately. There was no room for frivolity now, not with kids involved.

But the smile wasn't a happy one, he should have known better. Too often his sidekicks released aimless chatter and happy grins on missions. They were serious, they got the job done, but there'd always been that joy underneath. It kept him going but it also scared him. They were happy because they expected him to protect them. They were happy because they didn't understand. Couldn't understand.

Diana's wasn't a happy smile. It was a let's do this smile. He couldn't remember seeing one in Gotham but recognized it instantly from a few select missions. It was all the serious he needed, all the capability to take some of the weight off him, but still somehow conveyed all the hope for tomorrow. It didn't undermine the situation. It accepted it.

It was enough.

Without a word he tossed her a charged smoke grenade and yanked the door open. She charged, whooshing past the creak of the hinges. Batman forced himself to count to three and followed. The smoke curled around his suit and even with his mask's filters he could feel the heavy smoke in his nose.

His muscles were tight, ready for something to hit, the Kevlar lightly scratching his skin. But there was nothing. No-one came at him through the darkness. His ears strained, as he followed Diana's path deeper into the room. There was nothing. No bone crunching. No punches on muscle. No enraged Bane. Too quiet.

"Batman!" Diana's shout carried easily around the mostly metal room. He rushed towards the back of the room, following her voice. With a quick flick of a button the smoke cleared, giving him a free line of sight.

Kids. A line of them across the back. Heavy ropes around their hands and feet and grey duct tape over their mouths. He ran forward. Falling onto his knees beside the closest child, a young boy, Batman pulled out a Batarang to cut the ropes. He briefly examined the thin wrists. They were rubbed red raw, small dots of blood welling to the surface.

Batman fought to keep the snarl off his face. "This might hurt," his voice was low and soft. With a quick motion he pulled the duct tape off the boy's mouth. The ripping sound tore through his heart. The boy gave a low whimper and dove into Batman's arms and Bruce had no qualms letting him stay there. With the boy clinging to his neck, Bruce moved from child to child, freeing them with brief, soft words of reassurance. Upon their release, most of the children flocked to Diana, who was herself freeing children. She was holding three in her arms, had one on her back, and a few more clinging to legs. Ages three to ten at a guess. He couldn't blame them. Wonder Woman was a bright, safe, hero-figure while he was a dark, scary man – probably a lot like the men who had tied them up.

There were, however, a few who stayed. Clustering around his ankles and clinging to his cape. The Gotham kids. His city. His kids. He needed to get them out of here, now. It should not have been this easy. If this wasn't a trap then it was a distraction. Neither of which he could afford.

"Mr Batman," the six year old boy in his arms tapped a light hand against his cheek, "he's over there."

Batman's head swiveled instantly, "Who?" The boy was pointing to the far corner by the door. He zeroed in on the desk, the perfect thing to hide behind.

The boy buried his face into the side of the cowl, "the bad man," he whispered.

"Diana," Batman immediately passed the children off to her, "watch them."

She took the kids without argument, instinctively shielding them behind her. He carried on, slipping into a controlled, defensive stance and keeping his back to Diana and the children. The bad man could mean a lot of people. Mostly likely there was some low tier punk who was supposed to be watching the kids and had panicked when Wonder Woman burst into the room.

Still, even a punk with a gun could get lucky. There was no reason not to be careful. As a bonus they, he, now had someone to interrogate. As long as nothing stupid happened.

Batman came at the desk from an angle and pounced. His eyes analyzed everything. There was someone behind the desk, he'd seen the foot before moving in. The perp was probably lying on the floor in a pile of quivering jelly. He'd quiver more before this evening was over.

As a rule Batman did not stumble, but when he cleared the desk and finally got a good view of the man attached to the foot, he flubbed the landing. A small extra hop was required to keep his footing as the sight on the floor rattled him more than expected.

Bane was dead. The hulking man lay flat on his back for the first time seeming small and defenceless. Around him lay bits of the plastic tubing, singed, that had once held his power venom and a quick inhale confirmed that the overly sweet smell in the air was from the puddle of venom on the floor. The red liquid gurgled, swirling with a life of its own around Bane's head. A last halo. With a swipe of his belt Batman summoned the GCP, the children needed to get out of here.

Batman bent low in his examination, a lack of power juice wasn't what had killed the supervillain. Being one of Batman's few powered enemies had given Bane a certain infamy. Cutting the lines had simply been a means to an end, a way to ensure that Bane couldn't come back. Whoever had done this had known about the venom and about the villain, they'd done their research.

They'd somehow managed to shoot Bane point blank in the forehead. The hulking villain must have let the killer get close; there was no other way a hole like that could have happened even without the venom. The bullet hole was perfectly round, no slightly oval shape indicative of a bullet dropping over a longer distance. There was no blood on the forehead, a fast clean shot. He spared a moment to check the body for secondary wounds, noting absently that the GCP had finally arrived. Then there was the most disturbing of all…

Batman stepped forward and lifted Bane's head, examining the back. Exit wound. Batman turned, using a third analysis of the room to confirm his conclusion, there was no evidence. No bullet casings, no bullet, not even residual powder. The room would, of course, be double checked but Batman doubted anything would come of it.

This was too clean. Too close. It was no disgruntled henchman or a spur of the moment shot of passion. This was a professional. Someone knew what they were doing and had decided to take Bane out. They had tracked him down and done the job. Worse, they had tracked Bane down before Bruce had.

That meant a certain caliber of criminal. A very specific and very small caliber of criminal. The kind that gave even Batman nightmares.

"Professional hit," his enhanced cowl picked up Diana's words, even when muttered. He turned slightly, she was standing beside the desk careful to stay out of both the crime scene and his line of vision. He appreciated both.

He granted her a sharp nod, "It would seem so," he said, "but still personal enough that the killer got in close rather than using a sniper from 500 yards away."

Diana nodded, taking Bruce's words as an acceptance to get closer, "did he have any significant enemies in Gotham?"

"Not that I was aware of," Batman said, "Gotham's criminals tended to let Bane be. He was too powerful an ally. The others often used him as muscle when brains and tricks wouldn't cut it."

"Who could pull something off like this?" Diana asked, "surely there can't be many people who could get the jump on Bane."

Batman fiddled with his earpiece, "A small bunch who could actually get that close for one reason or another even if you include the Justice League. You, me, Superman, J'onn, Flash," Diana scoffed at the suggestions, "Deadshot, Deathstroke, Constantine, Savage, Harley Quinn, Hush, and Luthor, are a few you'd know. But," Batman continued, "most people could find a way to see Bane with some kind of business deal. It's cutting the venom where we'd see a problem. Throw in people who would use a gun and the list gets smaller."

Diana followed his logic, "So Deadshot and Deathstrike are the best bets, and they've been known to hire out their services in the past."

"Unless someone wants to hide who they are and acquired a gun," Batman reminded her. His hand dropped to his side, "nothing has happened to the League." At Diana's frown he continued, "It seems likely that this was a distraction tactic and not a grudge. When the tip mentioned me specifically I thought that it was a trap-"

"And you were going to go alone anyway!" Diana interjected.

"But as that doesn't seem to be the case," Batman said, "it has to be a distraction."

Wonder Woman nodded slowly, "But for what? Killing Bane would take a lot of work or a lot of money in and of itself. What does this get you away from?" She froze, "the Batcave?"

"Already checked," Batman strode towards the door, "we're going to have to talk to the witnesses sooner than I'd have liked."

"Batman," Diana floated after him, "the poor kids, I don't think-"

"I know," his voice was heavy and his hand heavier as he rested it on her shoulder, "but somewhere there could be other kids in trouble. You know we need to know."

The two heroes exited the building into the chaos that was the GCP ground crew. Spotting a tent off to the side, Batman turned towards it. As expected the tent was packed with cops sitting with children in various stages of distress from crying to quiet shock. Bruce took a deep breath, trying to find his friendliest version of Batman.

"Bear," Diana's hand stopped him. His mind scrambled to keep up with wherever hers had gone. Finally he just stared at her, saying nothing. He certainly couldn't ask for clarification in front of all these cops.

Apparently he could jump slightly when her hands went to her belt. He tried to cover it with a cough. When he looked back up from the fake cough, Diana's lips had curled into a small smirk. She waved the white teddy bear from the factory floor in front of him, then said softly, "I'll have to remember that reaction when I think you're made of stone."

Given a moment to unswallow his tongue, Bruce was sure that he could have come up with something witty. Wonder Woman didn't give him a moment, she turned to the room. Her voice commanding immediate attention, "We found this bear inside, to whom does it belong?"

A small boy raised his hand slowly, the same six year old who had attached himself to Batman's neck earlier. They moved quickly through the crowd, Diana extending a hand here and there as the passed. Her ability to extract even a small smile from a crying child appearing to be magic in and of itself.

Diana sat on the bed next to the boy, springs squeaking in protest. She handed him the bear, which he immediately clutched to his chest, and put a comforting hand on his back, "And what's your name, brave young man?"

"Adam." He said softly.

Wonder Woman nodded, her face light but serious, "I'm sorry we couldn't save you sooner Adam. You've been very brave about everything."

He hid further behind the bear, "the bad man is dead."

"Yes," Diana rubbed small circles on his back. Bruce wondered if she was conscious of the action, "he is. And we're trying to figure out who killed him. We were hoping that you could be brave one more time."

The boy snuffled slightly but said nothing.

"Do you think you could be brave for Batman and I, Adam?" Diana asked again.

The boy looked up at the word Batman. He leaned into Diana, pressed deeply into her side but kept his eyes locked in the caped crusader.

Batman knelt instantly, hands on his knee, and met Adam on his eye level, "I need your help." Batman said plainly.

The boy's eyes went wide. Bruce didn't blame him. There were heroes who would do just about anything to hear Batman say that they needed him. This boy was more worthy.

"Would you be willing to help us, Adam?" Batman's voice was lighter, closer to Bruce's. Although his eyes were locked onto the child's, from the corner of his eye Bruce saw Diana check if any cops were a tad too close. He appreciated the gesture.

Adam nodded, "'Kay"

Batman gave a rare, small smile, "Thank you. Now, I need you to think carefully. Did you see the person who shot the bad man?"

"Yes." The boy whispered instantly.

Batman winced internally. He'd almost hoped that the boy hadn't seen anything and had been spared the trauma, "Can you tell me what you saw?"

The boy took a deep breath, put a tiny hand in Wonder Woman's hand, and said, "It was man. He fought with the bad man and then shot him in the head with a silver gun. He almost freed us but then he didn't. He said that he was sorry but that somebody would come get us soon and that we would be safe."

Batman filed that away for later, "Very good Adam. Do you think that you could describe the man." The boy frowned, "or what he was wearing?" Batman amended.

"Black," the boy said instantly, "he was wearing all black. He had black hair and a black mask and all of his clothes were black. Except the gun was silver."

"What kind of mask?" Batman asked.

Adam took his hand and cover his eyes and nose, leaving only his mouth open, "like this," he said, muffled behind the fingers.

"But you could see his hair?"

The boy nodded, "It was kinda long. Not really long, but long for boys. Shaggy."

Batman couldn't think of any shaggy haired gunslingers, "Did he use any other weapons?"

The boy's eye lite up, "there was a laser. Like in the TV shows. I couldn't see it properly but my dad likes science and I recognized the light."

Batman immediately tensed but forced himself to say, "thank you Adam, you've been a big help." He rose, reaching for his utility belt "Diana."

She followed him a moment later, "Bruce what?"

"Singed tubes." Batman snarled, "singed. He saw a _laser_. It was a distraction." He jammed a line straight through to the Watchtower console, overriding the systems. He knew that his movements seemed frantic and he didn't care.

Diana stood next to him, trying to catch up.

"Location Zeta. Now." He roared into the cowl's mic when Mr Terrific picked up.

"Kayla." Diana breathed the name.

"Teleport is down," Mr Terrific stammered through the line, "J'onn is doing maintenance."

Batman hadn't waited past the word down but was sprinting to the Batmobile. If Diana wasn't right behind him, he was going without her. He made it five steps before he felt arms grip his chest tightly and his feet leave the ground.

Of course. One more reason for Batman to feel stupid that evening. Diana was faster than the Batmobile could ever be.

"You think it was Three," Diana spoke into his ear. Not daring to go too fast for fear of ripping the caped crusader in half.

Bruce fought the feeling of helplessness and compensated with explanations, "It's the perfect thing to draw me out. Leaving the kids. Laser vision is a select power and few people carry weaponized lasers. I have one in the cave and Slade has one. If he's found a way to track Kayla then this is his play. If he hasn't found Kayla then I'd call it a warning. He's angry at her. It an 'if I can do this to Bane guess what I can do to your family when I find them'. He wants to draw her out."

"We were careful," Diana argued.

"Everyone makes mistakes," Bruce said, "land on the roof of the building next door."

"What?" Diana asked even as she did so.

"I don't want to lead him right to her. This could be a tracking plan." Diana punched open the door to the stairwell. Bruce sprinted into the first apartment on the left, "I rented this just in case. Change. Now."

Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince walked as quickly as humanly possible across the street. Holding hands for effect, they smiled at the doorman, and passed on the elevator with a laugh and a suggestive giggle. Then they sprinted up the stairs, superspeed is a gift.

The heroes burst in the apartment. Diana pulling her lasso from somewhere Bruce couldn't quite figure out, while he fanned three Batarangs in his hand.

Kayla sat on the couch, an extra-large everything pizza propped open on the table in front of her. She immediately shut the laptop on her lap and stared at them, "So, thanks for ordering me a pizza."

* * *

><p><em>Only a week and a half until another update. Look at me. No two year gap here. This was a long chapter but I'm not sorry. Clearly if you were looking for a story with a romantic date this is the place to come ;) And of course, I'm always interested as to your thoughts on the chapterwriting and who our killer is. -Aria_


	36. Green Thanagarian

Even Batman makes mistakes. Looking back he always seemed this invincible and unstoppable force, miles above the League.

Shaking my head at the thought, I slammed a book closed and watched the dust poofs upward, settling like a thick mucus in my nose. I shoved it onto a pile with what's left of Themysicra's library and scowled. I always believed in a near perfect Batman, so a near perfect Batman is how I've told this story.

I've tried to make the story see as I did: Batman was right and smart and everything and the League was a bunch of overpowered monkeys trying to keep up. But he isn't and they weren't. Realistically you could make an argument for any one of them being the best, it's just easy to romanticize Batman. The human hero in a sea of powers.

But he's nothing to romanticize. Yes, he puts fear into the hearts of stronger man and solves mysteries that most didn't even see but like the best piece of Krypontite, Batman had a problem. The world's greatest detective has felt too much and is afraid of feeling intensely again. So he misses the clues from those who make him feel. He refuses to embrace them, consistently holding people at arm's length and so misses the mysteries they hold. Ironically mysteries that would have been the key. He missed me. More importantly he missed the boys. The biggest boy and the littlest boy. His boys and he missed them.

His family. I suppose that's the word. I'm still not sure what family means and who is family. Is Diana his family? Is Clark? Is Tim? Is Alfred? If so then it would seem that blood doesn't matter and for me to say that blood doesn't matter makes everything I've done that much worse. Because I did it for blood, for my family. For the closest DNA I had left. That's why I'd like to say that blood is family but it seems a disservice to say that Diana, Clark, Tim, Dick, Barbara, and Alfred weren't Bruce's family. It seemed like they were. I don't know. I wish I did.

But Batman missed the clues. The great Batman missed everything that mattered in the grand scheme. Well, I can't decide if Diana mattered in the end. Because I think he snuck her in right under the wire - but if he lost the boys, was it worth it? I'd like to ask him. But he's one of the few not trapped on the island. The Trinity still stands. A last fortress against The Six. Six, of course we're The Six. But the Trinity too will fall. Six versus three. Simple math.

He missed his boys. And Luthor. For Ares' sake why was no-one besides us watching Luthor?

* * *

><p>"Battie, Battie, Batman in the house," Flash pounded his hands repeatedly against the Founder's conference table, sending vibrations up Diana's arms, before zipping out of the room and down the hallway.<p>

The conversation between the remaining founders halted, taking time to comprehend the speedster's rushed words. Shayara leaned across the table, raising an eyebrow, "Know anything about this Di?"

I shake my head but rise to my feet, "Only an educated guess."

As I make my way out of the room I hear John's voice floating behind me as the other's get to their feet, "Why would Diana know why Batman's here?"

"How's my favourite archeologist?" Bruce's voice soared down the hallway and rebounded through the high ceilings of Diana's large museum wing.

Diana rolled her eyes with a smile at Cassie; Bruce had given her enough funds to hire an assistant and Wondergirl had jumped on the opportunity to learn more about Amazon heritage, "I'm the only archeologist he's got."

Cassie giggled, repositioning a vase, "I hear you've got him."

"Don't believe everything you read in the papers," Diana brushed her hands on her pants, the rough, stone dust coming off her hands against her blue jeans.

"Sorry," the girl copied her movements, "I shouldn't assume. It's just hard to ignore after a month of being splashed across the front page. I mean I know its Bruce Wayne and you'd never really go for a playboy like him but..." Cassie started wiggling her fingers and dropped into her best announcer voice, "You've seen the titles 'Old Flame Returns to the Wayne Life', 'Playboy Gives it All up for Archeologist', 'When Gotham Ran out of Girls, Wayne Moved On', 'Gotham Biggest Bachelor: Single No More?'."

Diana shrugged, "Bruce's life has always been vastly over dramatized."

Cassie shrugged back and grinned, "All I can say is that your crush on Batman must be huge if you're willing to put up with Wayne simply because he asked you to."

Diana could feel the red rush to her face - sadly being an Amazon Princess didn't give her an immunity to blushing.

The red only increased when Bruce's voice came from right behind her, "A huge crush on Batman," he groaned, "Diana, I cannot believe that you're leading me on. I promise I'm much better than that crazed detective, you'd have to have the patience of Wonder Woman to put up with him."

Cassie sniggered then ducked back into her work at Diana's raised eyebrow.

"Hello Mr. Wayne," Diana turned just in time to see Bruce' s wink. Praying to the goddesses that it was due to Cassie's lack of knowledge about his secret identity and not a reference to the marvellous shade of red decorating her face and neck, "What brings you here?"

It was a legitimate question. Typically when Diana saw Bruce in any sort of Diana Prince setting it was because Kayla was lurking somewhere nearby or because she'd be seeing her shortly. His dedication to his daughter was admirable but it created an unexpected quandary when he showed up in the middle of the day, no Kayla in sight.

"If you have the time," Bruce's eyes had the genuine twinkle in them that Diana would only admit made her stomach flutter when no-one was around to listen, "I'd like to take you out for lunch."

"She's got time," Cassie piped in from the corner, "Batman doesn't seem to be interested."

"My gain," Bruce grabbed her hand and tucked it in his arm before walking the two of them out the door. With a quick set of instructions for Cassie to please not over-brush the frescos again hollered over her shoulder, Diana decided not to bother fighting the situation.

She exhaled deeply when they got outside, "Talk about needing the patience of Wonder Woman. I never even agreed to go to lunch with you."

Bruce patted the hand on his arm, "You're not going to say no to free food."

"Girl still likes to have the chance," Diana countered, trying to figure out what restaurant could possibly be in the direction of the wooded area around the museum.

With a grace more Batman than Wayne, Bruce spun her around so that she was standing in front of him. With her heels, the two stood eye to eye. It was romantic for half second until a Gotham wind whipped past them, making Diana's hair jump into both their faces. Spluttering and grinning, Bruce stumbled back while Diana slipped a hair elastic from her wrist and into a quick ponytail.

"Diana," Bruce tried again from a safe distance, "would you like to go to lunch with me?"

"Why Mr. Wayne," Diana said, "Of course I would. How nice of you to ask." Date 27, not that she was counting.

Bruce rolled his eyes, "No-one would believe me if I said that you had a spark of sass to you."

"Mother says it was even worse when I was younger. Amazon teenagers, you don't want to deal with them." Diana said.

"I can imagine," Bruce said with an expression that Diana couldn't quite decipher, "definite stubbornness issues."

"Like you were any better," Diana teased, "if your daughter is any indication Alfred should have retired years ago. She's made of sass. Don't worry," Diana said at Bruce's frown, "Kayla hasn't been too much trouble, we're having a good time. Just butting heads once in awhile, she spends so much time on that laptop – it cannot be healthy." Diana chuckled, "she's making me feel like a real mom."

The following silence was lengthy even for conversations with Batman. However, it wasn't the usual uncomfortable 'Batman is staring you down so that you can realize how stupid you are' kind of silence but a more amicable 'people who will not admit to being more than friends but are effectively dating and co-raising a child and have a strong relationship' sort of silence.

"You may not be forced to endure us Waynes for much longer anyway," Bruce said at last.

Diana's fingers tightened around his arm, "What?"

"I've hatched out a tracking algorithm from the cave," Bruce explained, "for the laser frequencies that seem to be related to Three."

"From Bane's crime scene," Diana nodded.

"No," Bruce's face went dark, "from a previous encounter. I needed longer lasting isotopes from a wider carbon source with similar genetic components. Regardless, I've got satellites monitoring the immediate area, we should be able to flush them out." Diana could tell that the smile on his faced was forced, "then you can finish this mission and get back to your life."

Something uncomfortable but unidentifiable flicked across Diana's stomach, "Don't hurry on my account Bruce. I'm more than happy to help. I know that you have other cases on your plate as well. Not to mention the League attacks that I know you still haven't dropped despite your official resignation." Bruce blinked. "So you take as much time as you need. In fact," she chuckled, "I'm rather enjoying my time working for the museum, chastising my rebellious fake daughter, and dating The Bruce Wayne."

By the time Diana finished the sentence her head was high and her eyes met Bruce's. Daring him to challenge her or say that she's lying.

"Well," Bruce said, "we appreciate your graciousness." He stepped off the path and pulled a portion of the bushes to side creating a small path, "If you would?"

"Making me traipse through the bushes Bruce," she stepped past him, "most girls aren't so fond of mud and tree branches."

"You're not most girls."

Pushing through a spider web that decisively did not make the great Wonder Woman flinch,

Diana smiled at the sight of the clearing, "I take it back, picnics are always acceptable."

Bruce had gone all out. A little cliché but that somehow added to the charm. The red and white checkered blanket, wicker picnic basket, small clearing in the middle of trees. "The question," Diana said while settling onto the blanket, "is did you cook this yourself?"

Bruce passed her a small wine flute, "I would only cook it myself if I was trying to get rid of you. Alfred's forbidden me from the kitchen due to my propensity for creating charcoal rather than edible items."

"So you're trying to keep me around," Diana said with a smirk.

Bruce shoved half a sandwich in his mouth, "I never said that."

"It was implied."

"Don't know what you're talking about Princess."

"So you're saying that you're not trying to keep me around while implying that you're trying to keep me around" Diana spent years as a child perfecting her mother's accusatory arched eyebrow and it was paying off now, "I didn't think you could get more inconsistent. Tracking algorithms to get rid of me faster and a picnic with food made intentionally not to drive me away."

Bruce fell back against the blanket with a thump, "Are you done analyzing me?"

"Never." Diana smiled and chucked a grape at his head.

He caught it in his mouth, grinning with at her with the green fruit between his teeth.

Diana rolled her eyes and swirled the wine flute, glass cool on her fingers, "You think you're so awesome don't you? The Great Bruce Wayne. Gotham's hero."

"Just trying to keep up with wonderful women like yourself," Bruce sat up beside her, "well educated, beautiful, foreign, passionate about the world. Simple human like me has to rise the occasion, keep up with the big guns."

Diana choked on a grape, "Simple human. Really Bruce?"

He brought a hand up to her back, "Nothing wrong with simple humans." His voice came right by her ear, his breathe heavy on her necks and giving her goosebumps, "Correct me if I'm wrong but genetically, you're just a simple human yourself."

"The simplest," she agreed before he caught her lips in his.

The action was soft and quick, non-invasive. Respectful but the hint of tongue said certainly not chaste. Diana would almost have said that the action was timid.

So, when he pulled back she went after him. Turning, she caught him with a small smile. Diana placed a hand on his chest and matched him with the same soft kiss. She wasn't sure whether the smile she felt was her own or his. It could have been both.

She pulled back slightly and tapped him lightly on the nose, "That's for kissing a Princess without permission."

"And here I thought that I'd lose my head," Bruce's fingers were rough as they ghosted over the top of her hand, "Amazon warrior and all that."

"Too messy," Diana said, "Besides, I couldn't kiss you again without it."

She didn't need super hearing to catch the slight hitch in his breathing.

"Can't argue with that," Bruce said, leaning in.

"DIANA," Wonder Woman recoiled as the call blasted through her head. Her hands scrambled to cover her ears.

Bruce was moving instantly, knocking over the picnic basket, one hand on her warm on her back, the other in the defensive, "Diana," he said, "Diana."

"Communicator," she gasped around the ringing, "I left mine at the museum."

He ripped a small section off his belt buckle and passed it to her, "I'm here," she choked out into the silver square, "turn it off."

The ringing stopped almost immediately, Diana sagged backwards until she hit Bruce's chest.

He wrapped an arm around her waist, "What happened?"

"Remember that high frequency distress signal we developed for people with super hearing?" She muttered, "I think mine might be set a little loud."

"Wonder Woman come in." J'onn's voice came through the communicator.

"This is Batman and Wonder Woman," Bruce said, "that frequency needs adjustment now. Wonder Woman is suffering some unexpected side effects. Didn't someone test it?"

"I apologize," J'onn said, unfazed by getting both heroes on one line, "however, a situation has developed that made it imperative to get your attention. I tried to raise Wonder Woman's communicator but was unsuccessful."

"What's the problem J'onn?" Diana asked.

"There was another bought of attacks," he said.

Diana sat up, "I'll be right there."

Bruce maintained his hold on her waist, "If he's calling they're already over."

"Correct," J'onn said, "however, we've captured a unique prisoner and are in urgent need of a founder's meeting." He paused, "Batman, I would recommend that you attend as well." There was a crashing noise in the background, then, "Shayera is not taking the situation well."

* * *

><p>"It seemed business as usual," Lantern was there to greet them as they stepped off the teleporter, "Even when the League attack started, it didn't seem different than any of the other ones we'd faced. Lots of villains, no financial or power target, just direct attack on the League."<p>

Diana nodded to a nearby tech, "Who was the main focus? Flash?"

"No-one so far as we can tell," John said, "we all just assumed that one of the other groups was having the problem."

Batman frowned, "Never assume."

"I know," John said," but easier said than done. So we ward off the attack, manage to send a few back to prison, thinking we've done a good job. The next thing we know the news is flooded with images of a 'rogue Thanagarian' terrorizing the city."

Diana stopped flat forcing Batman to quickly sidestep, "Shy would never."

"She didn't," John said, "it was someone else. Taking advantage of the other attacks."

"Hawkman," Bruce put a hand on Diana's arm to get her moving again. Quickly pulling back before anyone could spot the out of character action.

John shook his head, "We thought so too at first. He's definitely male so we sent a team out based on that assumption. Big mistake. He nearly got away. Shayera had to go in personally and pick him up before he disappeared altogether."

They passed into the lower detention area, alpha access only, "J'onn said she wasn't taking it well?" Diana asked.

John sighed, "As far as we can tell he's a legitimate Thanagarian or at least appears to be physiologically. The wings are part of his anatomy although the initial reports are saying that they're heavily armoured in metal. He was carrying Nth metal. You know there's no lost love between Shayara and her people. Now we've got Luther all over the TV talking about how the League is secretly prioritizing attacks. Secretly in talks for a second invasion. Looking to take over ourselves. Questioning our loyalties. Talking about how he, as president, can fix our broken system." John entered the final passcode, "it's not looking great for us."

The others were standing outside of one of the high security cells.

"Luthor's all hot air," Superman greeted them, "no-one actually believes him."

"Shy," Diana immediately went to her friend while Bruce took off toward the cell.

Shayera was systematically grinding her fist into her mace, "How can they possibly think that after everything, I'd be working against the Earth?"

"Nobody actually thinks that," Diana deftly extracted the mace from her friend, "you know how politicians are. Using the situation to their advantage."

Shayera snatched the mace right back, "You know what I should do? I should pound Luther in his shiny bald head. I've got nothing against Earth as a planet, just people like him."

"Hey come on," Wally zipped over, "it's not nice to discriminate against bald people. I bet Luthor would be crazy even with a full head of hair."

If Shayera had supervision, Flash might have fried.

"Okay then," Flash raised his hands and backed up, "we're not joking about this yet. Don't worry Shy, you'll get there. Just working through the shock."

There was a click as the cell opened and Batman slipped inside.

"Hey," Superman followed, "we don't know how long he'll stay unconscious." The two heroes disappeared into the cell.

"I'm not working through the shock," Shayera slammed her mace against the wall, "I'm not in shock. I want answers."

"We all do," John said, "but tearing down the Watchtower or hitting Luthor isn't going to get us there."

"Says you," Shayera mumbled.

J'onn looked up from the computer screen, "It's possible that Luthor engaged this Thanagarian simply to produce a violent reaction from you before the elections to swing some of the electorate in his direction."

They paused at the thought.

"It may be best," J'onn continued, "to avoid giving him additional fuel."

"Yeah but J," Wally said, "where's Luthor going to get a Thanagarian anyway? They all left after we whupped their butts remember?"

J'onn's eyes were grave, "The potential exists that Luther captured him years ago and has been maintaining him in storage for a beneficial moment." Shayera's mace drooped in her hand as she inhaled sharply.

"What like locked him the basement?" Wally asked.

John put a hand on the small of Shayera's back, "Luthor would call it a prisoner of war."

"Man's world still manages to shock me," Diana said, "but Luthor's actions are more reprehensible than most."

"So it's not his fault!" Wally chirped, "he probably thinks we're still at war. Or he's been brainwashed by Luthor. You just need to explain it to him Shy and it'll be good."

She leaned against John, the others pretending not to notice, "Thanagarians are warriors born. I doubt talking will convince him of anything. More likely he'll believe it's a trick or a trap."

Batman stalked out of the cell, "Founders meeting. Now."

Superman followed, "Batman, what do those numbers mean? Why did you stare at his face like that?"

"Not now!" Batman roared. Then turned to the techs, "I need that DNA analysis immediately." The techs flinched.

The founders stared. Diana's heart froze. Batman never raised his voice like that. There was too much emotion in it. He barked orders certainly but that voice, that was not a controlled order.

"Everyone," Batman continued more softly, "is going to want to sit down."

* * *

><p>Wally was uncharacteristically still, Diana noticed in lieu of trying to figure out what Batman was about to tell them. The speedster was constantly fidgeting, tapping his fingers, here and then gone. But today he simply sat in his chair and waited, fingers still on the metal tabletop.<p>

Ten minutes of silence later, Batman slid through the door and locked it behind him, "Omega protocols." The room flashed.

Diana's thumb tapped the table. Omega protocols were the deepest security, ensuring that no-one could hear or record anything said inside the room with alien or human technology.

"Where have you been," Shayera slammed her fists on the table, "first you yell at us to hurry up and sit down and then you disappear and take your time."

Batman sat, watching her coolly, "I assumed you wanted me to be certain before I said anything. I was in the lab completing the DNA tests."

Wally frowned, "I don't know what kind of centrifuge you've got up here Bats, but that should take way longer."

"Not if you're looking for particular markers." Batman said.

"And you just knew what Thanagarian markers would tell you what you needed to know?" Flash shook his head, "even you're not that good. This is alien DNA."

"Not as alien as you'd think."

Diana sighed on the inside. Could the man say nothing straight? It all had to be covered in mystery and shadows. As alien as you'd think could mean not alien at all, only partially alien, familiar, human made.

Shayara seemed to agree, "What does that even mean?"

Batman steepled his fingers, "He's half Thanagarian and half human." Inhales punctured the room.

"What? No," Shayera said, "that's not even possible. Disparate number of chromosomes."

"It's messy," Batman agreed, "with a low chance of survival but the right chromosomes could create a viable offspring with only minor problems." Bruce flicked on a projection and highlighted the captive's wings. "See here," he traced the outer line of the wings, "this is real, the same as Shayera has. Fully attached to the body and nearly fully grown."

"Nearly?" the others sat back and let Shy take point.

"He's physiologically a teenager," Batman confirmed. He then highlighted the metal feather structure. "This however, is not metal armour as the techs originally assumed. It's actually a replacement set of wings. He was never able to grow them beyond the outer skeletal structure as feathers are beyond human DNA. Someone's grafted these onto him to allow flight."

Shayara's face softened momentarily before her muscles clenched, "Who would do something like that?" she growled. "Luthor? A Thanagarian would never mistreat another this way."

"He's too old to be someone Luthor got his hands on during the invasion," Superman cut in, "if he was a product of the invasion he'd only be three years old."

The lightbulb went off in Diana's head, "Bruce said he was physiologically a teenager," she said putting his clues together, "that doesn't mean he actually is. Consider Superboy, he looks twenty but is barely two."

They all looked at Bruce. He cracked a small smile at Diana, "He's about four."

"How could you possibly know that?" John crossed his arms, "that's far before the Thanagarians were even here. Shayera had only just arrived. I think you're just making this up as you go along."

Bruce didn't bother responding. He toggled a few more buttons and an image of the captive's face appeared on the screen.

"Um," Wally said, "what is that supposed to tell us?"

J'onn gestured across the table, "Perhaps it's not supposed to tell _us_ anything."

Green Lantern was paler than Diana thought possible, his eyes fixed on the image of the teenage boy. Diana saw nothing of particular interest in the tan skin and black hair of their captive but John was gripping the edge of the table like it was the only thing grounding him.

His ring started to glow, a faint green aura that enveloped his whole body. Unsteady, it spiked lashes of green energy in and out vibrating. John seemed unaware, floating a few inches off the ground. Hands still firmly caught on the table.

"John," at Shayera's voice The Lantern dropped back into his chair, "who is that? You know him?"

Diana could have sworn Bruce was almost smirking as he said, "I take it you remember?"

"Of course I remember," John said, "You think a man forgets something like that? That it doesn't affect his actions?"

"It changed mine." Bruce said. Diana felt as though the two men were having an overly private conversation.

John nodded, "Yeah, you were a bit of a hardhead." Then his eyes narrowed and he pointed at the image, "But how can he be here. Now? He explicitly indicated family and an egg and I know I didn't miss that."

"History was rewritten," Bruce said.

"But he's still?"

"Yes." The answer was firm.

John sat down. Hard. Ring blinking out.

Shayara was too nonchalant, "If someone doesn't explain what's going on right now, I will hit both of you so hard that Robin, Batgirl, and the other Lanterns will feel it. Even the ones on Oa."

John stared at his hands.

"John, Diana and I chased a thief through time and ended up in the future where we met an alternative version of our captive." Batman said.

Diana blinked, "I did what now?"

"You wouldn't remember," Bruce somehow met her eyes from behind the cowl, "you were erased from the timeline. Either never born or never left Themescira. When we re-altered the timeline you reappeared back here on the Watchtower." Diana stared at him. "If it makes you feel better," Bruce said after a moment, "Everyone else here was dead."

"Except you," John muttered from where his head was resting on the table, "you were a crotchety old man."

"Regardless," Batman cut in, "we know exactly who this is and the DNA results confirm it.'

Shayara clunked her mace on the table, "That's great boys and we're going back to it later. But I want to know who he is and why John is having a heart attack."

John looked at Bruce.

"No way," Batman crossed his arms, "this one is all yours."

John squared himself in his chair, "You're sure."

"Positive."

Lantern's gaze drifted to the image. "He's." The marine consciously loosened his shoulders, "He's my son."

There were exclamations about the room with one vital exception.

John's gaze slid from the image to Shayara, who was silent and suddenly pale under her red hair, "He's our son."

Diana's breathe caught at the statement. Eyes immediately returning to the face on the screen. Once you knew what you were looking for, you could see it. Shayera's eyes. John's jaw. She turned to the rest of the room. Wally was standing as words spilled from his mouth at a mile a minute, incomprehensible. Clark was also speaking, but the words were aimed at Bruce. He was searching for answers. Batman wasn't giving any. Silent under the cowl. J'onn too was silent, subdued with one hand on his chin and the other on the table. Watching the image, likely running his own analysis. John was babbling, the usually stoic marine trying to get out a story about time travel and a boy named Warhawk. And Shayera,

Shayera sat.

Eyes fixed on her mace but unseeing. A thousand worlds away. Any other scenario would have had the Thanagarian smashing her mace about, demanding answers, contradicting statements. Her quiet was disquieting.

Diana rose instinctively, skirting around the table to stand behind Shayara's chair. She laid a hand on Shayera's bare arm, "Shy, say something."

The words were a whisper, "I have a son."

"It would seem so." Diana lightly squeezed.

Shayara nodded once. Eyes still distant while the boys said words that ultimately meant nothing. Diana stayed beside her.

Finally, Shayera's hand inched forward to grip her mace, "He can fly?"

The words stilled the conversation.

"That's your first question?" Wally blurted.

It was Batman who answered, "Yes. Although his human DNA prevented his Thanagarian DNA from producing a full set of wings the metal attachments should provide sufficient lift."

Shayara nodded, "Good."

John was looking at the table. Hard. "He had the same wings when Bruce and I met him."

"So how is he here?" Clark asked, "if he's supposed to be in the future? I don't suppose he gave you a life history?"

John blushed slightly, "An older version of Static mentioned something about 'an egg that size'."

"I don't lay eggs!" Shayera cut in.

"It was a joke at the time," Batman stood, "but it infers that he was born rather than created in lab. It's a moot point anyway, that timeline no longer exists."

Shayera and John were both silent.

"So," Diana put in, "how is he here?"

"He's a scientific experiment." Batman spoke swiftly, "designed by a pre-Cadmus entity as a way to neutralize the Justice League. The program would eventually lead into the Superboy project. They took DNA from metahumans and attempted to create powerchecks for them. This project was attempting to create a stop for Shayera."

"And me." John muttered.

"Not exactly," Bruce frowned, "They knew that your power wasn't genetic. They only used your DNA in the hope that, when they eliminated you, your ring might recognize your offspring as an acceptable bearer."

"It doesn't work like that," Lantern broke in.

"We know that now," Bruce said, "but at the time it was a reasonable assumption. They were playing the odds. They tried a combination of DNA 230 times and only one result was viable through conception and accelerated growth." He gestured to the screen.

J'onn finally spoke, "How could you have those numbers?"

"hey yeah," Wally said, "You seem to know a lot about this Bats. Why didn't you tell us?"

Bruce gritted his teeth, "I was under the impression that everyone from this project, 520 H, was terminated about a year ago. And as to the statistics, he told me himself."

Batman altered the screen, using x-ray and zooming in on a patch of skin on the boys lower left hip. The words were clear.

D - 5

Project 520 H

1* – 1 – 230

"Okay," Superman said, "I see where you got the 230 and the project name. But how did you know what this means? Why did you believe him dead?"

"Because that's what I was told."

"Who cares!" Shayera finally came to life, "Who cares about the how and the why right now. Let's just assume it's because Batman knows everything." Her eyes flashed and her wings quivered, "I have a son. A son. Boom, just like that. And he's not just a son, he's a science experiment. A high level prisoner in our holding cells. A son who hurts people and actively fought against us. A son who was most likely brainwashed by some evil government organization. A son who spent his whole life in some kind of facility. I'm eventually going to have to go down there and talk to him. To the son I've never met. And who knows, maybe he'll come around. Or maybe he'll try to kill me or innocent people. But now I know he's my son. I'll pull my punches. What am I supposed to do with a son? I'm not a parent. I hardly knew my own parents. I can't-"

"SIT DOWN!" Bruce cut her off with a deep bellow, not unkindly. He pulled back the cowl and leaned forward, fists on the table.

Shayera sat.

"You will deal with it," Bruce found her eyes and held them, "you will spend one evening panicking. You will get all of these emotions dealt with or you will shove them away. The same way that any parent handed a newborn has to. You will go down and talk to him. You will be honest but you will be careful. You will not tell him anything compromising and you will be honest about why you can't. You will not trust him. You will have to build that trust. He will have to earn you and so will you. And even when you trust him, you will still spend every day watching for a sign that you were wrong. You will always be watching the skies for the day they try to take him back and they will try. Because he will come around. He'll want to stay with you and they won't want that. But you will protect him, because that's what parents do. You'll do whatever it takes and tell whatever lies you have to. Because you won't trust him, but you'll love him. You'll make it work. That's what I did."

"Having a daughter dropped in your lap from an old flame is a little different than having a science experiment son come busting down your door." John said, "this is a whole new ballgame Bruce."

"No, it's not." He pulled up an image of a second set of markings, similar to the boys, "this is how I know what they say." He zoomed the image out. Diana knew what was coming. The image zoomed out to reveal the whole girl, "and this," Bruce said, "is how I know how you feel."

"Kayla." Wally said, "no way."

"Same group, different project," Bruce said, "she's my failsafe just like he's yours. Although she didn't come busting down my door. She blew up an access port to the BatCave with a pile of TNT. Now go talk to your son."


	37. 33 and a Half Dates

The crowd burst into cheers, and the noise rebounded through Metropolis Square. They quieted only when the words came again, "And I promise, not only to the people of this great city that I call home but also to the people of this whole country, that I will make a difference. That we will change the world together. Ladies and gentlemen. We stand on the precipice of a new era, of a horizon of new possibility of what mankind can do together. I know that can be scary. I know that there are many of you who fail at the thought of stepping out from underneath the shadow that has long stood above us. It is a large shadow. I grant you it is a seemingly righteous, beautiful shadow. For years we have been pleased to crouch underneath it's strength. But let me tell you ladies and gentlemen,"

"No," The man clarified before continuing "let me _ask_ you, have we, the great nation of America, ever been content to crouch underneath a shadow? Have we ever let those with greater power tell us what to do and where to go? Have we ever been content to cower underneath an controllable foreign power. NO. No we have not. We are the greatest country in the world. The land of freedom and truth. And let me tell you the truth today folks. We do not live in a land of freedom. We live in a land of fear. Where the proud American bows his head and bends to the will of a single collection of unelected powers who refuse to subject themselves to our basic laws. Who refuse to answer to any man. Who refuse, I said who blatantly refuse, to show us their face or tell us their names. Does that seem like freedom to you, you who are gathered here today, you who represent this great nation?"

The crowd's voice rose to a roar. Thousands of words shouted at once but the meaning was clear. No.

"America has always been a nation of change. A nation of hope. A nation of the fearless. It has never been a nation who stood in the shadows. And I fear my friends, that the longer we stay in the shadows the harder it will be to ever leave them. So I am not here today to ask for your vote. I am not here to ask for your money. I am not even here to ask for your time. Ladies and gentlemen of this great nation, I am here to ask only that you find your courage. I ask you, in this hallowed spot, to remind yourselves of the fierce urgency of Now. This is not time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism where we hand over ourselves to the greatest authority. Where we simply follow the status quo. Where we let slid everything that America stands for.

Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy, to rise from the dark and desolate valley of a powerful shadow and to stand in the sunlit path of the power of humanity, unblemished on the solid rock of brotherhood. In the past, I will admit that I have followed this path in the wrong way. I have let the darkest reaches of my soul spoil that bright sunlight, but no longer my friends. That is why I stand before you, asking to be your president, asking for you to let me lead you into the light in the right way. I intend to conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline.

To struggle on in the light of day, whatever the consequences. For America, this is a struggle we have beaten before. There was a man. A man you all know well, a man with a dream. Well, friends, I share that dream. A dream as relevant today as it was in 1963. Friends, I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. All men. All equal. I have a dream that humanity will walk out from this powerful shadow and into an oasis of freedom and justice where no man has the power to take out another simply due to the contents of his genes. I have a dream that we will not chose our heroes by the size of their power but by the freedom in their hearts. I have a dream that America will choose her own path and once again stand on her own two feet as everything we love her to be: brave strong and free. That is my dream. That is my path.

Brothers and sisters here today," Luthor raised his hands to the screaming crowd, "will you make me walk alone?"

The screams trailed after Luthor as he finally left the stage and entered his lavish campaign trailer waiting out back, bodyguard walking just out of reach of his shadow.

"Well, those idiots took that even better than I expected," Luthor loosened his tie and dropped into the desk chair, "You may have missed your calling Alexander. Speechwriting must pay better than bodyguard."

The bodyguard took of his dark glasses, flicked black hair from his eyes, and stooped down to grab a beer and bottle of medicine from the cooler. Wiping the cool condensation on his pants he tossed the meds to Lex and said, "If I was simply a bodyguard, you may be right." The young man leaned against the wall, "People love that crap. Extended metaphors about overcoming obstacles," he rolled his eyes, "you can say anything if you say it right."

Luthor nodded, "Curse of the masses. No vision." He popped the cap off the bottle and dry swallowed two pills, "Have you heard from the family?"

Alexander nodded, "Mary is dealing with the island, Triton has finished removing the secondary targets. As expected both have contributed perfectly. Charlie, however, typically managed to get himself captured. Although the primary target was accomplished."

"You have an extraction plan," Luthor interjected.

Alexander shook his head, "We've decided to play an internal angle."

"That is not your decision to make," Luthor stood, "you should have consulted me immediately. This could wreck my plans."

"I'm sure," Alexander raised an eyebrow, "that you're capable of a small alteration. I don't have the resources to extract him and he wasn't essential to your plans."

Luthor frowned, "I expect my employees to detail everything to me. Next time," Luthor tapped a small bulge in his chest pocket, "there will repercussions. Painful repercussions."

Alexander stared at him lazily, "Would you like me to continue my report." A pause, "sir?"

"Fine."

"Saul has nearly located the weakness. Narrowed it down to a small city in South Western Canada."

A quiver of Luthor's eyebrows betrayed his surprise, "Ariadne will fall into line?"

"Most definitely," Alexander smirked.

"Keep me well informed. Congratulate Saul when he comes through. Send him those cookies he likes or something."

"Oreos."

"When's my next appearance?" Luthor reached for his jacket, "Election's in less than a week."

Alexander didn't bother checking a schedule, "Tonight in Gotham."

"Has that matter been resolved?" Lex asked.

Alexander frowned, "Two more dead – Scarecrow and Freeze, odd but hardly relevant to our plans."

"I don't like loose ends boy," Lex said, "or changing variables. Someone is killing villains in Gotham. What if Batman reacts unexpectedly? We need consistency, known quantities. Not questions."

* * *

><p>"It's rude to lurk in doorways," Batman threw the words over his shoulder without turning.<p>

Wonder Woman rolled her eyes and entered the surveillance room, "there's irony in there somewhere."

"Why are you here Princess?" Batman said.

She took a seat beside him at the surveillance room console, spinning the chair slightly to get a better view of the screen, "In case they need back-up."

Batman snorted, "Unlikely. The boy is well contained."

"I didn't mean physical back-up," Diana said, "unless you intend to make sure everyone is emotionally sound?"

Batman said nothing.

"Of course," Diana continued, "You've only spent the last few days keeping them away from their son because they're 'impartial' and you 'need answers'."

"Of course they're impartial." Batman said, "If the boy would have given me answers then they wouldn't even be in there."

Diana shook her head and tapped her foot on the metal floor, "No-one is impartial on this one."

"Batman," John turned to wave at the camera, Shayera at his side, "we're ready."

Batman flicked a small green switch, "Remember, I need answers." On screen the cell door popped open with a metallic hiss. Switching cameras, Bruce zeroed in on the cell's captive. The young, genetically created son of Green Lantern and Hawkgirl.

With chains on his wrists and ankles and a heavy magnet securing his metal wings the boy was nearly sinking into the floor.

Shayera entered first, hands rubbing together. John directly behind her, twirling his ring.

Diana frowned at the screen, "Where's…" Batman reached under the desk and hefted Shayera's mace onto her lap.

"I'm not letting her in there with a weapon," he said.

The entrance of the heroes caused the boy to lift his head, eyes widening and dark eyebrows bouncing up. He caught himself, dropping into a neutral expression. The room was silent but for hissing pipes as the three simply stared at each other.

John started, "Hello Rex."

The boy twitched, "My name is Five."

"That's not a name," John crossed his arms and then uncrossed them, letting them hang loosely at his side, "that's a number. You're more than a number Rex."

"Both are arbitrary sounds that are assigned to us without our consent," the boy said, "I pick Five. What's it to you?"

Lantern frowned, "A number is impersonal, it denotes a lack of caring. I don't want," he took a deep breath and glanced at the silent Shayera, "our son, to feel uncared for."

The boy watched them, "Sorry. Was that your big reveal? The one that's supposed to make me crumble and get sympathetic because mommy and daddy are superheroes and so I'm just supposed to help them." He rolled his eyes, "please. I've known who my biological donors were for years. Besides, even if I hadn't, none of us were trained to fall for that kind of sentimental nonsense."

"It's not sent-" John began but Shayera cut him off.

"No. The kid's right. It is sentimental nonsense." Shayera flicked her wings, "He wants to be called Five, call him Five. Who cares. Call the kid Five. So he's our son. Big. Deal." John stared at her, ready to speak up when she elbowed him in the gut. "We don't know him, he doesn't know us. No special treatment. He's just another lab experiment gone wrong, one more bad guy who ended up in these cells." The boy flinched. Shayera pretended not to notice. Too calm "We've seen thousands like him and we'll see thousands more. The deal's the same. Get whatever information they can give and then send them packing. If he's not going to fall for the sentimental crap then we'll use a more direct method."

Both men were openly gaping at her, mouths wide in identical shocked expressions.

Shayera wasn't near done. "You're seeing what you want to see John. What you always see. Someone who needs saving. Someone you can redeem. A softie surrounded by tough edges. You thought that was me and now you're making the mistake of thinking that Five here is the same. We're tough through and through. Raised to be soldiers. Trained from the start. Taken away from our families and given new ones – fellow comrades in arms. Trained to kill or be killed. A soldier from the get-go. There's nothing human left inside of us. Five knowns. They took it all away. They made you theirs not your own."

"They did not-" Five spluttered.

She turned back to the boy, "Didn't they Five? They went in there and scooped up everything good and nice and sentimental and turned it into hate and rage and then taught you to control it. To see it their way. You control it. They control you. Always tough. Always tow the party line. Always follow orders. Just another soldier."

Five strained against his restraints, letting them cut into his wrists and releasing the metallic scent of blood. He growled"I am not just another solider. You have no idea who I am."

"Neither do they," Shayera spoke over him, " But they don't care that they don't know. They like that they don't know. You're just Five. Couldn't even come out right. Slap on a pair of metal wings to fix him up and send him on his way. The broken science experiment. Number five. Couldn't even make the top three. Not powerful enough? Blood of an alien. Half-formed wings. Enhanced strength and you nearly get outranked by a skinny powerless girl. Just Five. Nothing higher."

Five frowned. "Four can hardly think straight. Three is a moron. I should have been Three." He shouted, " And I'm stronger than Six ever was. One was just biased. Six is so smart he always said. Six is one of us, not you. Six has spunk." He spat, "Six never followed orders. She did her own thing and never followed the plan."

Shayera dropped to her knees, getting right in Five's face, "Oh yeah? Because I've met Six. Calls herself Kayla right? And she's certainly outranking you. No powers? At least she's got personality. One is right. Spunk matters. Spunk is personality. And you've got none of it. Six gave herself a name. Kayla got herself a family. Kayla let people help her. Kayla decided her own path. Five let's himself be told what to do. Five follows orders like a mindless puppy. Five throws up walls and is too well conditioned to consider letting people help him. Five doesn't dare imagine a world where people could care about him, where he has a mother who understand exactly what it's like to grow up a soldier and have your family taken away. Five can't comprehend a world in which a Father could trust him. Five can't even consider a world where he has a name. A name used by people who care about him. Five doesn't believe in love. Five is just a number."

Shayera's voice dropped low, "I'll call you Five if you want me to, but you can't stop me from seeing Rex in there."

The boy said nothing. Chains kept his limbs firmly on the floor but he let his head hang after them, chin to chest. Shayera reached out, hesitating for the first time, and softly brushed a tear off his cheek with the pad of her thumb.

"He didn't tell me much," the boy said at last, "but I'll try."

* * *

><p>The sky was dark over Gotham as even the moon hid behind fast moving clouds. To Diana, the city always smelled of too much mud and too much garbage but tonight, with the high winds whipping the scents away from even her nose, the darkness of the city seemed quiet and waiting.<p>

"I don't know if I could do it," Diana swung her legs over the edge of the building to sit on the ledge, fiddling with the rough rock of the building as she gazed over the rooftops of the city.

Batman kept his eyes on the target below them, a burned out hotel where Poison Ivy was supposed to be staying. At least, that's what their target was supposed to think, "Shayera is a trained interrogator Princess, she gets results." He said.

Diana frowned, "But the look on Rex's face. She broke him. She could have been gentler. Kinder."

"We don't have that kind of time. Five's confirmation that Luther is involved is invaluable. It gives us a firm direction to search for who's ultimately giving the orders, we didn't have the time to spare" Batman said looking down at his equipment to triple check that every wire and snap of the plan was still in place, "It also gives us the brief break I need to track down the murderous vigilante running through my city." His words ended with a growl.

Diana thought she understood. Bruce had given his life to defending this city and had made it his mission, his one rule, to never kill its villains. To have someone running free, breaking that rule, it violated his city, his rules. Still, Diana couldn't quite shake the Steward 'family'.

"Does it have to be all about us?" Diana paused, watching the tails of her hair spin in the wind where they jumped between tickling her arm and caressing Bruce's shoulder, "what about what he needs?"

"She did what needed to be done," Batman finally looked up at her, "What if you had a daughter or son? Would you sacrifice thousands of lives to save them?"

Diana looked up, his eyes were intense and staring down at her, "Could you?"

"No."

Diana twitched, "You'd burn the whole world to save your daughter?"

"That's not the same thing," Bruce said, "but I know that if you asked me to kill any of my children, whatever the reason, I wouldn't be able to do it."

She couldn't respond. Batman, while certainly not as hardhearted as he tried to appear, was tactical. He ruled himself with logic. Until he didn't. So what did that make her? She watched his eyes search her face, those fierce eyes sweeping across her and looking at her soul, "but," he paused, eyes flashing, "you would."

"I would." She agreed softly, "it is the Amazon way. My child would know that. It would not stop the pain of my actions, it would likely destroy me but if forced to make the choice I would save thousands over one. Even if it broke my heart."

Bruce went for the hug before she realized that he was moving. She found herself crushed against his chest with an intensity that would have pinned any other woman. His nose had found its way to somewhere between her neck and her ear, providing a small spot of cold to contrast the warmth of his mass.

She wiggled her arms free and returned the embrace, pausing to appreciate the smell of him. Finally she said, "I'm fairly sure someone, somewhere owes someone money as a bet was won and lost."

He pulled back, "Sorry."

Diana almost gaped, the man, the Batman, looked sheepish.

"Forget about it," then she added too lightly, "that's what friends are for right?"

Batman moved away, perching on the ledge of the building and once more stared downward, "Of course."

His posture was hunched, pulling his shoulders towards his core and letting his arms rest inward, and nearly hugging his chest. Diana paused, biting her lip as she took in his posture. Her hand crept down her side before jerking back as it brushed against the lasso on her hip. A constant reminder that not even Wonder Woman could lie to herself.

She flexed the stinging hand and said, "Although, I think we may be well beyond typical friends."

Bruce's head swung around to stare at her.

"While I can't say what you typically do with your friends, I don't traditionally attend stakeouts, raise their daughters, or go on over 30 dates with them." Diana swallowed, "I'm not sure friend is the right word." The lasso tingled against her hip.

"33 and a half dates," the words jumped from Bruce's mouth.

Diana raised an eyebrow, "A half?"

"The one Poison Ivy interrupted."

"I didn't realize you'd been counting so closely," Diana said.

"I'm not." Bruce said, rising to his feet.

Diana shrugged, "Don't you think it's a little late for denials?"

"I've spent years in denial," with two strides, he was right in front of her, "it's where I'm most comfortable."

His breath ghosted across her face as she said, "Rich kid with issues huh?"

"Dating within the team already leads to disaster," Bruce said but didn't move away.

"33 and a half dates later…" Diana let herself trail off, holding his eyes even with the cowl in the way.

He tensed, "those weren't real dates."

"Don't kid yourself," Diana said, "and don't you dare lie to me. Because I've done more than enough lying to myself that it's all just a cover and it would be just the same if you were any other 'friend'. I need to know where I stand. Where we stand. Not whatever this thing is that we don't talk about. Because let's be honest Batman, we're not friends."

"No," he whispered, "we're not."

* * *

><p>Kayla fumbled with her keys, jiggling the lock as she let herself into the apartment and bobbing her head to the music coming through the earphones. The door swung open and she danced her way into the living room, dropping her backpack on the table and scooping up her laptop.<p>

Scowling at the screen, she typed a quick message before closing the lid and flinging herself down on the couch.

"Crap," she swore as something sharp dug into her butt. Squirming slightly, she reached behind her to pull a utility belt from the cushion. Her brow furrowed, wondering momentarily if she'd stashed this in couch for emergency purposes but forgotten.

She shook her head, the belt was far to big for her hips. This was a Batman belt, maybe Nightwing.

Kayla's eyes drifted upward, freezing when the reached the entrance to the hallway. Red boots. Black boots. A cowl on the floor. An edge of a black cape peeking at her.

She whipped the earphones from her ears, barely wincing at the pain. A thump, a giggle, and a moan had her clapping her hands back over her ears, eyes wide. She stuffed the earphones back in, scrambling to gather her laptop and backpack.

Kayla sprinted out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her. There are some things a girl never ever ever wants to be aware of, never mind pay witness to.

* * *

><p>Happy Valentines Day :)<p>

questions comments and concerns always welcome. Thanks for your continuing support. Stay Stupendous. Aria


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